Getting Home
by Quinis
Summary: Tragedy has struck! Rusturf Tunnel collapsed, severing Rustboro City from Verdanturf Town and leaving people (and pokemon) cut off from home. Nessa is one such person. The last one to escape from the collapsed tunnel, she's now stuck in the wrong place with no other option than to wait months for the tunnel to be fixed, or become a pokemon trainer and (attempt) to journey home.
1. Chapter 1

** Author note: **First apologies, because I did plan to have a new story up much, much earlier than this. Sorry to anyone who has been waiting and thank you everyone for your patience.

This story took a long time to get out, especially since I didn't know exactly what I wanted to write. (I was originally going to write a Nuzlocke-based story but I failed the Nuzlocke - all my poor pokemon were wiped out.) Eventually, I decided to use the Nuzlocke data to write this story - about a 16-year old who gets her chance to travel and be a pokemon trainer.

**I'm going to try and update once a week** (once a month at the very slowest) and probably on weekends.

Enjoy! And reviews would be lovely!

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Away from Home**

The dry taste of dust in Nessa's mouth made her cough. Her chest rattled as she sat up. Miraculously, she didn't seem to be injured. Her right sleeve was ripped and there were slits in her jeans but that was all.

As she looked around she spotted her bag. It was only the light radiating off the left strap that allowed her to see it. She stumbled to her feet and lurched forward.

It appeared she was hurt after all. Pain shot up her leg, radiating from her ankle. She reached out and pulled her bag close to her, hugging it tightly to her chest.

"I need to thank Eric the next time I see him," she said to herself, trying to calm down. Eric had been the one to give her the small light as a gift.

She unclipped the light; a small, round light like those that were sometimes attached to keys, and moved the beam to look around.

She was surrounded by a condensed rock walls on two sides and the path behind her was blocked by more loose rocks. The path before her was also filled with crumbling rocks, but there appeared to be a path she could climb through. She could hear the tinkling, shuffling and groaning of rocks moving and it made her sick to her stomach.

"I can't believe it," she mumbled, fumbling with the light. Once again, she climbed to her feet, leaning against a pile of rocks to lessen the weight on her injured ankle. "The tunnel collapsed." She kept talking as she found the silence unnerving. "Rusturf Tunnel collapsed."

She shuffled forward, pushing her way through a path of rocks.

"Why now?" she questioned, still talking out loud. "There were no warnings of earthquakes or anything." A small sound interrupted her monologue. She looked around, tracing the light over the grey and brown rocks. "Hello?"

After a few moments of straining her ears in the silence, she heard it again. A small whimper. She dropped her light lower, searching the ground before she found the source.

A small, round and pink Pokémon with large pink ears with yellow tips lay trembling on the ground, encased and almost crushed by rocks.

Nessa quickly stumbled down the rock fall, heading straight for the Pokémon. She had heard that Whismur lived in the cave but she had never seen one before.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked the Pokémon softly. She held out a hand to it, brushing it just above it cross eyes. Its body trembled and it let out another whimper. She pulled her bag into her lap and reached inside.

"This Pokéball was a gift from my sister," she explained as she pulled out the white Premier Ball and held it in her hand. "To tell you the truth, I forgot about it until now. If you get inside it, you won't get hurt and I'll be able to carry you to safety. What do you think?"

She lightly tossed the ball at the Pokémon, nervous energy rushing through her body as it encased the Whismur in bright light and closed. It shuddered for a few moments as the Pokémon moved to get comfortable and then went still.

Nessa breathed a sigh of relief as she picked up the now still ball. She looked at the small Pokémon inside and smiled.

She wouldn't feel silly talking out loud now.

* * *

Everyone was in a panic. Dust was still billowing out of the cave entrance, the Pokémon either scrambling away or helping others out. The people were standing around, many with their Pokégear out, checking that everyone was out and safe. One of the hikers, a large man known as Hiker Mike, was barking out orders to others.

"Send for more potions! The injured need to head for that house just there for treatment! If you saw anything suspicious, for goodness sakes, report it! And someone get Roxanne here!"

Nessa stumbled out right into the chaos. She coughed and hacked, the fresh air both fresh and painful. Her grip tightened around the Pokéball as she looked around. The sight of the trees and grass made her heart both soar and sink.

She was out but at the wrong exit. And she knew that she wouldn't be able to go back through the tunnel.

"Did you just come out of the cave?" A booming voice asked, a figure in a green jacket moving into her sight. She flinched at the harshness of the voice and found herself coughing again.

Eyes watering, she could only nod.

The next thing she knew, there was a rush of air as hands gripped her legs and chest and she was hoisted up.

"When Roxanne gets here, send her to me!" the person holding her shouted before walking off.

"I can walk," she finally coughed out. She tried to sound outraged but her voice croaked and spluttered.

"The name's Mike," the man said, ignoring her. "And you are?"

"Nessa," she responded with another cough, "Nessa Triz." She held up the Pokéball. "And this Whismur needs treatment first, I found it injured in the tunnel."

Mike looked at her, then at the Pokéball and nodded.

"It'll be done," he assured her, "now; do you have any family you need to call?"

She ignored the panic that swelled up in her chest. She was not looking forward to explaining this to any of her family. She zipped open her bag, which was resting on her stomach, and grabbed her Pokégear.

To her dismay, it was broken and the screen cracked. She hadn't noticed that in the tunnel.

"I don't know the numbers," she said to Mike, "but, my sister works in Rustboro, I can find her."

"That might have to wait," he informed her in a serious tone, removing his hand from her side long enough to open the door of a wooden house.

Instantly, Nessa was assaulted by the sharp scent of antibacterial items. She looked out and swallowed. There were cots set up along two of the walls of the house. Except for a long table; which had been turned into a desk, there was no normal furniture in the house. Women in white coats pushed metal trolleys of bandages, medicine and sharp things she preferred not to look at.

Sitting, or lying, on the cots were people being checked over. Nessa spotted a man with a large gash on his right arm, which was bleeding freely. She also noticed a few people with bandaged legs. Everyone was covered in dust and grime and she could see that a lot of people would be sporting bruises in a few hours.

"Give this girl a look over," Mike said, placing her on a cot and addressing a nearby woman in white. "She just came out of the tunnel." The woman gave a sharp gasp. "Yeah, she's also brought out an injured Pokémon, so give it a look over too. And she's got a sister in Rustboro, see if you can contact her." Mike turned to her. "What's your sister's name?"

"Elisa Triz," she responded automatically, running her hands nervously over the Pokéball. She was tired, her eyelids fluttering in exhaustion. It had been a long day.

* * *

She opened her eyes to a woman demanding answers and a heavy weight on her chest.

"Good afternoon." She jumped at the sound of her sister's voice.

Long brown hair which was tied up in a flowing ponytail was the first thing she noticed. The seconded was the weak smile she was giving.

"You had us worried," Elisa told her. She then pointed at Nessa's ankle. One of the women, a nurse, had wrapped it tightly in bandages before she went to sleep.

"It's not even broken," she responded, "I only have to be careful to not make it worse."

Her sister frowned in disbelief.

"Have you told Mum and Dad?" Nessa asked.

"Considering the circumstances, they welcomed the news that you're okay. But, the tunnel's going to be closed for months."

"I'm not going to be able to get home, am I?" Nessa's stomach sunk.

Her sister sighed. "If you were a Pokémon trainer, you'd be able to."

Nessa nodded. She had already realised that. Her brother; the Pokémon trainer of the family, was able to fly on Pokémon to any city he knew. It was definitely the best way to travel.

"By the way, what's with that Pokémon? I've been told you rescued it but nothing else."

Nessa looked at the Whismur. It seemed happier now and its wounds were gone. The little round Pokémon, which had been the source of the weight on her chest, was sitting in her lap and tugging at its ears in play.

Unconsciously, Nessa had been petting the Pokémon as they talked. She stilled her hand and looked up at her sister.

"I found it trapped under some rocks and I had the Pokéball you gave me so-"

"You caught it."

Nessa nodded and added, "it was the easiest thing to do."

"Sorry to interrupt." A woman in a navy blue uniform dress walked up to them. "I just want to talk to our survivor here."

Nessa caught the word 'survivor'. Rather than being comforting, it sent a shiver of fear up her spine. It reminded her just how close she had come to being crushed under the rocks.

"I'm Roxanne, the Rustboro City Gym Leader." She held out a hand and Nessa shook it. Roxanne then shook hands with her sister. She even gave Whismur's small arm a little shake. "In light of this disaster, we're working at setting up temporary accommodation for those people stuck in the wrong town. I understand that another Gym Leader has travelled to Verdanturf Town and is in the process of setting up something similar there.

"Unfortunately, there's little we can do to transport people like Nessa back home. Flying Pokémon won't be able to travel back and forth between the two towns for long. They will tire, not to mention that it's dangerous.

"However, Mr. Briney; a sailor who lives on the other side of Petalburg Woods, is willing to ferry people to Slateport City with a stopover in Dewford Town. He leaves in three days."

"You can walk from Slateport to Mauville back to Verdanturf," Elisa realised.

Roxanne nodded.

"Unfortunately, it is a bit of a dangerous journey. We've received word that the Cycling Road has been forced to close, so people have to walk through Pokémon territory."

"I don't have a bike on me anyway," Nessa pointed out. All she did have was her bag and what it contained.

"Nessa!" her sister barked, sounding scandalised, "you're not seriously thinking about this! You can just stay with me until the tunnel is clear."

"But, Elisa," she whined, "it's less dangerous than travelling normally; after all, other people are going." She looked at Roxanne and the Gym Leader nodded in agreement. "And they're trainers. So, maybe I can find someone to protect me."

"Nessa," her sister sighed, "you know that we don't have the money to travel. What will you do for food? Sleep?"

Nessa fell silent. She knew that money could be an issue when travelling. She also knew that Eric had a tough few weeks when he started out.

But, "I could battle Pokémon," she responded, "that's how Eric made money."

"Nessa, you're not a trainer," Elisa reminded her.

"She already has one Pokémon," Roxanne pointed out, "as for starting money and the trainer licence, well, I can help with that. Come to the gym tomorrow and I can have a licence made up for you."

"Really?" Nessa asked, it sounded unbelievable. Excitement bubbled through her veins. The Pokémon in her lap wriggled and gave a cheer.

Roxanne laughed.

"I think everyone noticed that that Whismur likes you. Train it up a little and we'll see what happens."

"What do you mean, 'see what happens'?" Nessa questioned.

"If a trainer manages to defeat a Gym Leader, they get a cash reward," Elisa told her, "it's not much, at least, not at Rustboro but, it should be enough to get you going."

"That's right," Roxanne said happily, "I'll be in the gym tomorrow morning at 10 for our battle."

Nessa's mouth opened. She dropped her gaze to the Pokémon in her lap, which was glaring up at her with determination, and she knew that she wanted to take this chance.

* * *

Her sister wasn't as convinced. Especially when she had to piggyback Nessa half of the way back to Rustboro because the younger girl wasn't supposed to walk.

Rustboro City was just as she remembered it. A bustling city filled with buildings reaching into the sky. The main road was white and paved a path through the city. It also branched off, leading travellers to important buildings; such as the Pokécentre, Pokémart, Pokémon gym and the Devon Corporation building.

Elisa walked down the white path until they stood before a light blue building with a red roof and clouded automatic doors.

"The gym?" Nessa questioned, noticing the sign beside the door. Tapped to the front of the doors was another sign; this one stating 'closed'.

"Now that you know the way, you won't need me to bring you here," Elisa announced, crossing her arms. She still disapproved, even seeing her sister battle wild Pokémon on the way. "And if you're going to do this, you're going to need another Pokémon."

She pulled out a Pokéball and passed it to her.

Nessa stared at her sister in shock, before moving her shocked gaze to the Pokéball. Inside, she could see a small, wriggly red Wurmple; the yellow spike on its head and the two yellow spikes on its tail standing out.

"I caught it a few days ago with the intention of raising it up for contests," Elisa said, "but, I haven't got the time."

Nessa nodded, although she wasn't really listening. She felt like a little girl, not almost a woman at sixteen.

"If you're going to beat this gym in a day, we'd better get training," Elisa said, taking a step to the side.

As her support suddenly vanished from under her, Nessa stumbled into the air where her sister had been. She hissed in pain as her weight shifted to her injured foot.

She looked up to see Elisa heading down the street and off the white path.

Muttering silent curses, Nessa hobbled after her sister-turned-teacher.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Pokémon Trainer

The day dawned early for Nessa. The pain in her ankle had dimmed to a dull ache. She supposed that it would have stopped hurting completely if she hadn't spent most of the previous day on her feet, hobbling around with a crutch.

After breakfast, she was back out in the field. This time, she was using a cane to take the weight off her injured ankle.

The hours to her Gym challenge ticked down and she was a bundle of nervous energy.

At ten exactly, she was standing outside the gym, staring at the doors. Her mouth had gone dry and the Pokéballs carried in her jacket pockets felt heavy.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this," she said, her voice breaking a little towards the end. She was just glad she hadn't squeaked, which was what she felt like doing.

"Alright, in we go," Elisa announced, pushing her through the doors with a good pat on the back. Seeing her sister so nervous had brought out her sadistic older sister side, which had made her more agreeable with the plan-slash-bet.

The gym was set out like a rocky mountain. The sight of all the rocks caused Nessa to tremble a little as she remembered what had happened the previous day. If she hadn't spent most of the day running around tiring herself out, she imagined she would have had less sleep than she did.

"Nessa!" Roxanne greeted her happily with a book in her hand. "Ready?"

Nessa stepped up to the painted lines, the gravel crunching under her feet, and looked up at the Gym Leader.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she responded, pulling out the first of her Pokéballs. She pressed the button, releasing the Pokémon; a Beautifly, the evolved form of the Wurmple her sister had given her the previous day.

Roxanne's first Pokémon was a Geodude. Not that it mattered, since Nessa finished it in one move. Absorb was a super-effective grass move which caused the opposing Pokémon to faint before it could pull off a single attack.

"Well done," Roxanne praised, pulling out another Pokéball from the hollow-out inside of her book. She released the Pokémon onto the battlefield; the pointed rock Pokémon, Nosepass. It lowered its orange, pointed nose at Beautifly. "But this much is to be expected."

The butterfly Pokémon fluttered nervously but stood its ground.

"Absorb!"

"Rock tomb!" Nessa gasped in horror as the Nosepass dropped to the ground, sending rocks flying towards the butterfly Pokémon. Beautifly stood its ground, uncertain of what to do as the rocks dropped all around it, until it couldn't move.

After a few silent moments, it was obvious that the Pokémon couldn't fight any longer. Nessa returned it to its Pokéball. She hadn't noticed but she had slid back a few steps, unable to suppress the urge to get away from the previous attack. And she tried to ignore the jittering pounding of her heart and the tremble in her fingers as she reached for her second Pokémon.

With Beautifly out of the picture, her chances of winning had just significantly dropped.

"I can do this," she whispered to herself. Glancing down at the Pokémon in the Pokéball, she amended her statement. "We can do this."

The Pokémon nodded its fuzzy head and she released it.

Zigzagoon barked; its zigzag coloured brown and white fur hackles raised. Its brown eyes, hidden behind a mask of black fur, watched the opponent with burning determination.

* * *

Nessa had caught the Zigzagoon the previous day while training out at Route 116. There had been many of the dog-like Pokémon scuttling around. She supposed they had been attracted by the recent excitement caused by the tunnel collapse.

The tunnel and part of Route 116 had been roped off. It was at the edge of the boundary where she had found Zigzagoon. Since she had been training her two new Pokémon, she had challenged it immediately.

Her Whismur pounded the Zigzagoon, stopping it from running. It charged back with a tackle.

"You should catch it."

She turned at the voice. Hiker Mike was standing on the other side of the rope, watching the battle.

"Why?" she asked. She had two Pokémon already. Without a trainer licence, she really shouldn't catch more than that.

"If you're going to battle Roxanne, you're going to need more than one or two Pokémon. Especially when the challenge is tomorrow and you're working with Pokémon you only met today."

She glanced back at the Zigzagoon, which was jumping around in a zigzag pattern. Its mouth was tilted up in a smile and it didn't take a Pokémon Master to see that it was having fun.

"Okay," she agreed. The Hiker threw her an empty Pokéball, because she admitted to not having any.

She figured it was easy. Step 1; walk closer to the Pokémon. Step 2; throw ball.

"Whismur, pound!" she ordered, hoping that it wasn't overkill.

The round, pink Pokémon jumped towards the Zigzagoon and hit it before it could get out of the way.

Taking advantage of the distraction the attack caused, Nessa tossed the Pokéball.

* * *

"Ready?" she asked her Pokémon. Zigzagoon barked in response. "Tackle!"

Zigzagoon dashed towards the floating rock Pokémon and threw its body at it. Nessa was disappointed to see that the attack didn't seem to have much effect.

"I must say, you're more determined than I thought," Roxanne commented before launching her attack.

She, too, attacked with tackle. However, Nosepass did far more damage when it rammed its rock body into Zigzagoon's fluffy body.

Nessa swallowed and watched her Pokémon stand, despite the attack. She knew that it wouldn't last long. The next few attacks would count.

"Tail whip!" she ordered, ready to use the strategy she really hoped she wouldn't have to use. She could see the confusion on Roxanne's face as Zigzagoon's tail whipped across her Pokémon.

"What are you up too?" she questioned softly, before ordering her attack, "rock tomb!"

To both of their amazement, Zigzagoon managed to jump out of the way of the rocks, completely untouched.

"Tail whip!" Nessa ordered again, cringing as Zigzagoon was hit by the next barrage of rocks. "Tackle!" she finally ordered.

This time, when Zigzagoon threw itself at the dominating blue and orange rock, the opposing Pokémon trembled with the hit. It dropped towards the ground but caught itself just in time.

Nessa smiled in delight. The opposing Nosepass had felt that one. She had planned for Zigzagoon to wear itself out while lowing Nosepass' defence and then use Whismur to achieve victory but, that plan no longer seemed necessary.

A few turns later, the winner was decided. There was a moment of silence from the spectators; people who had heard about the challenge, before they started cheering.

Nessa was stunned. Even though she had hoped for it, she hadn't believed it.

Roxanne had little trouble adjusting to the situation. She crossed the battlefield, walking around a few of the rocky obstacles, and pulled out a shiny badge from the inside of her hollow book.

On autopilot, Nessa took the badge from Roxanne and held it in her hand. The almost square, smooth brown badge reflected the lights from the roof of the gym.

"Congratulations," Roxanne said, "I have to say, I didn't expect you to be such a strong challenger. Especially not after one day. You'll definitely be able to make the journey back to Verdanturf Town." She handed her a rectangular piece of plastic. It had Nessa's details and profile on it and 'Pokémon Trainer' printed across the top. "You can collect your prize money on the way out."

She nodded and pinned the badge on the inside of her jacket. Then, she held out her hand.

"Thanks," she said, shaking the Gym Leader's hand. It still hadn't sunk in; that she had won and she could now start her journey home, but she could pretend it had.

* * *

Nessa had barely left the building before her sister wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Congratulations!" she squealed.

Nessa smiled and pulled out the three Pokéballs containing her Pokémon. Whismur was giving a silent cheer, ecstatic even though he didn't have to battle. Zigzagoon was jumping as much as the small space allowed. And Beautifly was curled up, asleep.

"I couldn't have done it without these guys," Nessa told her sister. She started to walk down the white path, heading towards the Pokémon centre.

"I'm sorry I missed it," Elisa admitted. She pulled out a red Pokégear from her dress and passed it to Nessa along with a yellow, oval device. "You can use this Pokégear to call mum and dad; their numbers are already on there. Plus, since there's no map card for the Hoenn region so, you're going to need this." She pointed to the yellow device. "It's called a PokéNav. It's got a map of the Hoenn region already installed, along with a function to check Pokémon's conditions for contests, track received ribbons as well as other trainers you meet along the way."

Nessa smiled and suppressed a snicker. While she wasn't any good at them, Elisa loved contests. She was always entering the normal rank contests at Verdanturf Town and had amassed quite a fan base. The PokéNav sounded like the kind of device she'd carry around.

"Thanks," she replied.

As the Pokémon centre came into view, Nessa noticed someone familiar standing outside.

"Mike!" she exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't expected to see the Hiker again.

"Nessa, congratulations!" he greeted her with a smile and open arms. For someone she had only known a day, they had become quite close. "It was a wonderful battle. That Zigzagoon outdid itself, I could hardly believe my eyes."

Elisa let out a frustrated groan, "oh, now I really wish I had seen it. It's rare for a challenger to win with a Zigzagoon."

Hiker Mike nodded in agreement.

"You see a lot of grass, bug and water types; if people can get one."

"I started with Beautifly," she pointed out, as that Pokémon was a bug/flying type.

"I noticed," Mike said, "I thought it was all over when it went down." He gave a snort to clear his throat and continued, "anyway, here." He held out five red and white Pokéballs. Noticing how full her hands appeared, he passed them to Elisa. "I'm not the Pokémon catcher I used to be and I already have Pokémon I can count on. You'll get better use out of these than I will."

Touched, Nessa gazed up into the man's face. His cheeks seemed a little red, although she couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or just hot from standing in the sun. "Thanks."

"Not a problem, not a problem. I'm interested to know how your journey turns out. When the tunnel's back in action, you've got to come tell me about your adventures."

Nessa smiled. She liked the sound of that; her adventures.

"That's for sure," Elisa agreed, "now, remember that mum and dad want a phone call every night to keep them updated."

Nessa sighed. She didn't like the sound of that. She'd do it anyway since she they might just send her brother to track her down.

"They're worried about you, you know," Elisa pointed out, "all they have is our word that you're okay and now you're running off without any family to protect you."

"You could always come," Nessa replied with a cheeky smile. She knew her sister would never agree, after all, she had work to worry about. Plus, she hated camping.

"I get seasick," Elisa said as an excuse, causing both Nessa and Mike to laugh.

* * *

It was quiet, too quiet. Nessa had only left Rustboro City a few hours ago and she still found the silence unsettling. She kept glancing over her shoulder and jumping at any sound.

Whismur waddled beside her, completely at ease. The pokemon darted across the path. It smelt flowers, touched leaves and even tried eating a stick.

A cold breeze caused Nessa to shiver. The path made a sharp turn right up ahead, heading towards the line of trees.

"Petalburg Woods," she sighed. The doubt the swirled in her stomach gave her pause as she stared at the path through the trees. She couldn't see very far, just the path weaving through the trees. And she could see long grass swaying as pokemon dashed through it. If she went through the forest, there would be no going back. The uncertainty of what lay beyond made her dizzy.

"I can't do this," she whispered under her breath, as she began to panic. Her breath came in short gasps and she hugged her arms around her sides.

"Hey! Are you a trainer?" a voice called from behind her.

Nessa turned around and came face-to-face with a girl a few years younger than her. She glanced down and noticed that Whismur was dancing around the girl's legs.

"Uh, yes?" she replied hesitantly. It still felt strange to call herself a trainer. She had only battled against weak wild Pokémon and Roxanne. She felt she needed to have done more.

To her surprise the girl smiled. Her brown hair; which was tied up with a yellow ribbon, bounced as she pumped her fist in a victory pose.

"I found one!" she cheered, almost jumping for joy.

"Found one?"

The girl nodded in response.

"A trainer! Here, follow me!" She proceeded to moved off in the opposite direction to the forest. She stopped a little down the path and turned around. "Come on! Come on!" she called, waving a hand in the air.

Nessa glanced back at the forest one last time before following the girl down the path. After a few moments, she noticed that the ground seemed to grow darker in colour. A first there were only lumps in the soil but, as they walked further, there were small green shoots and then plants of all different types and even berries growing.

"You're free to take one," the girl said, noticing the way she was looking at the berries. "I'm sure you're Pokémon would love to have one."

Nessa nodded and silently picked a round blue berry and handed it to Whismur. Whismur let out a happy purr and held the berry close, bringing a smile to her lips.

"What?" she questioned, when she noticed the girl staring at her.

"Nothing," she said with a shrug. "It's just that most trainers go for the rare berries."

Nessa looked over the field of plants and the berries of varying shapes, sizes and colours. Then she looked down at the brown oran berry plant with its unmistakable blue berries.

"I don't even know which of these are rare," she told the girl, motioning out at the plants. "So, I went with the one I know."

She thought the girl might have been disappointed with her response. She was an ignorant trainer after all.

"Well, we grow a lot of different berries here," she said, standing tall. "You've got your basic berries; like the oran, cheri, chesto, and so on. The ones that recover health and heal status problems. But, we also grow berries which are really only used for making Pokéblock. Like this razz berry." She pointed at a bumpy red berry which was attached to a palm tree-like plant with grey leaves.

"Wow," Nessa commented, moving closer to the berry. She knew about Pokéblock as her sister took part in Pokémon contests. Elisa's decision to move to Rustboro city made sense with this place so close by.

Suddenly, the girl seemed to remember something. She grabbed Nessa's hand and pulled her towards another plant. This one had two giant leaves which waved upwards, the berries growing at the base between the two.

"These are Liechi Berries," the girl announced excitedly, "if your Pokémon eats them in battle, their attack is raised."

The berry looked more like a seed. It had pale orange bumps where it wasn't smooth white.

"It's one of the rare ones," the girl said, "sis brought it back from somewhere; she won't tell me where. Trainers are only allowed to take one."

Nessa nodded but didn't pick a berry. She had already picked one and it didn't feel right to take another. Besides, she didn't think she would be able to use it to its fullest potential.

The girl didn't comment on how quiet she was, she just kept going from plant to plant; telling her about them and her sisters. It was about half-an-hour later that they finally entered the Pretty Petal Flower Shop.

* * *

**Author's note: **And so ends our second chapter. Remember to leave a review to let me know if you like the story so far or hate it (or if there's specific things you like/hate).


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Meeting people

* * *

The three sisters who ran the Pretty Petal Flower shop were kind to Nessa and thankfully didn't keep her from her journey for too long. The longer she stayed, the more nervous Nessa got. She still had to travel through Petalburg Woods and Mr. Briney's ferry would be leaving the next day. The sisters had told her over and over that it shouldn't take longer than four hours to get through but Nessa couldn't help thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

Getting lost seemed easy, after all, she had never travelled before and she didn't know the path through the forest. And what if Pokémon kept attacking her? What would happen if she got too tired to go on? She wondered if dying was a possibility or if someone would find her. What if the local Zigzagoon decided to kidnap her or something and make her into their Zigzagoon queen? As interesting as it sounded, she didn't want to live in the forest for the rest of her life.

Once again, she stood at the entrance to the forest. This time it wasn't quiet. Two of the three sisters of Pretty Petal Flower shop were standing behind her, cheering her on. It was only because they were watching that she could take those first few steps into the forest and she kept going until she couldn't see or hear them.

* * *

Petalburg Woods were nicer than she expected. There were a few leaves scattered here and there but it was no worse than walking in a park. Nessa found that pounded down grass created a makeshift path she could follow. There were even a few muddy footprints, showing that someone had recently walked this way.

Whismur waddled behind her for a while and then decided to jump onto her backpack for a free ride. She didn't understand why the Pokémon preferred that to its Pokéball.

Everything was going great. The Taillow were singing, the scenery was shrouded in misty greens and Nessa was getting some exercise.

And then she hit the tree. It was a small tree with almost perfectly round foliage. Its trunk was small, brown and skinny. It was nestled right in the middle of the path and between two huge trees. She was tempted to go around, but that required going around the trees as well. Not only would she risk losing track of the path but she could see the soft white sheen of thousands of Cascoons in the trees. If she went under, chances were that they would attack. She didn't think her Pokémon would be able to defeat all of them and she would also lose a lot of time fighting them.

"Which way now?" she asked Whismur, turning her head back in an attempt to see the Pokémon that was resting on her back.

She felt Whismur's head shake; the ears buffeting the back of her shoulders, in an 'I don't know' kind of way.

The ledge nearby proposed an alternative path but it wasn't an option. Nessa's ankle was still injured and despite trying to ignore it, she didn't want to risk making it worse. The drop down from the ledge was at least half her height and quite capable of making her injury worse.

Thankfully, or not, there was a patch of long grass behind her that she could wade through that would hopefully bring her back to a path. Although she didn't want to get lost, she couldn't just stand around and hope that somehow she would find another way through the forest.

She waded slowly through the grass, expecting a Pokémon to jump out at any point. There was a pang of disappointment when she reached the edge of the grass without a signal wild encounter. The path was right before her, along with another ledge.

"What am I doing?" she questioned aloud, almost throwing Whismur off her back as she rolled her shoulders. She was getting sick of this forest and reached for one of her Pokéballs.

"Beautifly!" she summoned, releasing the Pokémon. Then, she asked nicely. "Could you please help me down this ledge?"

Beautifly nodded its head and floated down over the ledge. Nessa sat down and hung her feet over the side of the edge.

"Okay, I'm going to drop. I need you to slow my fall, okay?" she said. Beautifly nodded once again.

When both Nessa's feet touched the ground without incident, she cheered. Picking up the walking stick she used to keep weight off her feet she waved at Whismur, who was standing at the edge of the ledge.

"Coming?" she asked. Whismur nodded and jumped over, landing right on her head. Nessa squealed as the Pokémon crawled down to its spot on her bag.

Even when you know the Pokémon, it still feels weird to have one crawling all over your head.

"Miss, you okay?" someone asked, before she was even able to register what happened.

Voices had sounded in the distance and two trainers had jumped down from the ledge, almost landing on top of her. The one who had spoke to her was a guy with short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a grey paperboy cap which matched the one the girl behind him was wearing and the grey messenger bag strapped over his left shoulder. Both of them were wearing red shirts and grey pants; although the girl's were longer than the guy's. The girl had similar brown hair, which was tied up in a high ponytail, and brown eyes.

"What?" Nessa questioned, unable to decide on how to respond.

"We heard a scream," the girl told her, pushing the boy back.

"Oh." Then Nessa realised what they were referring to. "Oh! No, no, my Pokémon just surprised me that's all!"

"Are you injured?" the girl asked, pointing at her walking stick and wrapped ankle.

Nessa really wished her sister hadn't insisted on wrapping it again before she left.

"Wait a second," the guy mumbled, "injured leg, girl; you wouldn't happen to be Nessa Triz, would you?"

Nessa nodded. It was a little creepy how the guy knew her name.

"And you are?" she asked.

"I'm Finley Samuel and this is my sister, Helen," the guy responded excitedly, "I heard about your battle with Gym Leader Roxanne! Did you really win with a Zigzagoon?"

"Well, yes but-"

"That's so cool! I had to rely on my Treeko and sis here has a Mudkip! I can't even imagine battling her without a type advantage."

"Fin, shut it," Helen ordered. A moment later, she added, "and how did you even find out about that?"

"James told me," Finley responded, "the battle happened this morning and he called me afterwards. I have to say, it sounded surreal; a rookie trainer actually winning against Roxanne on the first try and without using a type advantage! Never thought I'd meet her in person!"

Nessa shrunk away from the attention. She knew that it was strange for someone to win against a gym leader with only a day's worth of training under their belt but, she doubted that anyone could grow up around her brother and not know how to battle. Except her sister but she preferred contests.

"I have to say, that sounds impressive," Helen commented, "but, you just beat a gym so what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be resting?"

Nessa explained about the tunnel and Mr. Briney's offer. The siblings listened with interest. When she was done, Helen clapped her hands together.

"Alright, looks like we're heading to Mr. Briney's house."

"Thank goodness," Finley sighed, "I thought we'd be stuck here for months."

Helen explained as they walked;

"We thought it would be a good idea to visit our parents in Petalburg City after beating the second gym, so we paid another trainer to surf us back here. We thought that we could use the tunnel to get to Verdanturf town and then to Mauville City."

"Then, James called us and told us that the tunnel had collapsed and no one could get through. Which would normally be fine but, you require four badges to legally use surf and Norman won't fight us unless we have the badge from Mauville City," Finley chimed in.

"And there aren't any trainers who have four badges hanging around here," Helen continued, "we already checked; they all leave after winning. And there aren't any challengers at the gym; everyone's off training to beat Norman."

Nessa realised the problem straight away. "And with the tunnel impassable, there won't be any more challengers coming because they can't get from Mauville City to here."

"Not for months!" Finley whined, throwing his hands in the air. "If had just stayed in Dewford Town a few more days, we would have known to tell the trainer to stay a few days or something!"

Nessa suppressed a giggle at Finley's antics. In her opinion, he was being overly dramatic and humorous. But, she didn't want to laugh at their hardships. It was also depressing to realise that there were probably quite a few trainers in their position. After Mr. Briney's ferry leaves, there would be no way for trainers to get from the first gym to the second until it returned.

"How do trainers get to Dewford Town without the ferry?" she questioned.

"Well, once you win your first badge, one of the gym's workers would arrange a ride for you," Helen explained.

"They have a number of trainers who train in this area on speed dial, they call in one of them to help the rookie trainer make the journey," Finley added. Preempting Nessa's next question, he continued with, "but with the tunnel impassable, most of the city's and gym's funding will have to go to restoration efforts. They can't afford the trainer's assistance. I suppose they could do it for free but, most of them are heading towards Rustboro to help with the resurrection. Plus, I've heard rumours that even the gym is going to be shut down during the restoration. With people stuck in the wrong cities, every able body and coin will have to be used to get the tunnel back open."

"And, yet, it's still going to take months," Helen sighed.

Nessa agreed with her. But, she had heard the stories of how the tunnel had been first created. Large machinery, which would make the effort faster, couldn't be used without harm to the native Pokémon population. It became a manned effort which took years. In the end, it was a trainer and a man hoping to reunite with his love who finally broke the last rock and connected the two sides of the tunnel.

Since the tunnel had collapsed, this time no large machinery would be used because it would risk another cave in. Even with the assistance of high-level trainers, she knew that they would be lucky if it only took months.

While she had been absorbed in her depressing thoughts, she had failed to noticed that they were reaching the exit to the forest. It wasn't until the bright light first brushed her face, coupled with Finley's cry of "finally!", that she noticed that they were out.

* * *

A crisp sea scent wafted around. She could almost taste the bitter taste of salt on her tongue. The rushing and crashing of waves sounded in the distance, even though she couldn't see them yet. She could see the sea in the distance but, it was mainly an expanse of blue without features.

"Haven't you seen the ocean before?" Helen asked, seeing the jaw-dropped expression on Nessa's face.

Nessa shock her head. She had spent most of her time in her hometown or Rustboro city. She hadn't even been into the forest until that day.

"Then, let's go to the beach!" Finley announced, grabbing her hand. He pulled her down the path.

Slowly the beach showed itself to Nessa. First, she saw the crashing waves, bubbling white as they hit the shore. Then, she saw the sand. It was a deep grainy yellow the almost reflected the sun's light. Finley pulled her over some large tufts of grass which grew wild and so hard, Nessa could almost feel them piercing through her shoes.

The sand under Nessa's feet crunched and left almost perfect indents of her shoes in the sand.

"Finley!" Helen screeched, "remember, you can't swim here!"

Finley rolled his eyes and pulled out a Pokéball.

"I was just going to let Steve out for a bit," he said, "I caught him here after all."

Steve turned out to be a Wingull with broad white wings, banded with blue, and a long orange beak tipped with black. The Pokémon looked around for a moment before soaring to the sky. He did spins and loop-de-loops before skimming the surface of the waves with his wings. Other Wingulls noticed what he was doing and fell into formation behind him.

"Again," Helen sighed, "he's always bringing Steve out here. Show-off."

Nessa smiled but she was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. The sand was sticking to her shoes and she didn't know what she would do if they got wet.

"Um, what are the chances of water Pokémon jumping out and attacking us?" she questioned. She had seen pictures of Gyarados coming out of the water, looking ready to attack.

"Nil," Helen responded, "you need a rod if you have any hope of seeing one. Finley has one but he rarely uses it. Even that Wingull, he caught it the first time we had a trainer surf us over to Dewford and it attacked first. On this kind of beach, Pokémon won't attack humans."

Nessa breathed a sigh of relief but stepped away from the water anyway. The waves seemed to be getting closer to her shoes.

It only took Helen a few minutes of yelling to convince Finley that it would be better if they went over to Mr. Briney and introduced themselves. Finley left Steve with the other Wingull as they plodded along the beach, heading towards the little shack near the jetty.

* * *

**Author's note: ...**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Ocean waves

* * *

Mr. Briney was a kind but strange man. Despite his age, he was lifting weights and taking runs with his Pokémon; a wingull called Peko.

Nessa, Finley and Helen weren't the only ones spending the night at his place. He had let a few trainers into his small shack. There were seven in all; including Nessa and the siblings. A young girl who was holding her round, green Gulpin and was completely attached to one of the older trainers who was a lady carrying a parasol. There was a youngster in shorts who used his grey, doglike Poochyena as a pillow. And an older woman who spent most of the time meditating in the corner.

Nessa had trouble sleeping that night and it didn't help that she was awoken by a loud primal scream which was apparently part of Mr. Briney's wake-up routine. She had been the one to sleep in the longest as all of the others had already woken up. To her annoyance, some of them even participated in the scream which ruined her slumber.

Well before midday, all seven trainers were packed up and on the boat; ready to go. Mr. Briney boarded last and, after one last safety reminder, he vanished into a stern.

* * *

Nessa jolted as the ship began to move. It rocked; pushing forward and surfing the waves. Seawater was thrown everywhere and she could feel herself getting wet.

"This is awesome!" Finley cried out to the water, Steve crying out in agreement. The wingull skimmed down to the boat and then flew back into the air.

A medium-sized Marshtomp waddled over to where Finley was, and glared up at him with its wide blue arms crossed across its orange chest.

"Yeah, I know Kip," Finley smirked, "don't get too wound up." Noticing Nessa standing nearby, he walked over to her. Pointing back to the Marshtomp, he said; "That is Kip, he's Helen's Pokémon."

Nessa looked over at the Pokémon, which waved. The orange points on its cheeks and blue fin on its head all twitched.

"He insists that I introduce him to all women," Finley whispered in faux-horror, "or else he'll use mud-slap on me."

Nessa smiled at the thought of that. She was still a little annoyed at Finley's participating in Mr. Briney's 'morning ritual' so the thought of him covered in mud was amusing. Her hand slipped into the pocket of her jacket and she felt one of her Pokéballs nudge against her hand.

"Oh, you're awake, are you?" she commented, seeing Zigzagoon in the ball. The Pokémon was chasing her tail. It was surprising to see, she didn't think there would be enough room or that the Pokémon would have enough energy to do something like that.

"You should let him out," Finley said, "Mr. Briney doesn't mind. Besides, everyone else has at least one Pokémon out."

Nessa nodded and released Zigzagoon. But not before correcting Finley on Zigzagoon's gender. "He is a she."

Finley shrugged, "and now I know that."

Zigzagoon seemed surprised at the release. She glanced around and then flicked her round tongue in the air. Right before dashing around the ship like a Pokémon possessed.

"Um, is that normal?" Finley asked.

Nessa nodded. She had found that Zigzagoon seemed to be the most energetic of her Pokémon so far. Both Whismur and Beautifly were more like her, sleeping in and not really moving unless they had to. They weren't lazy; heavens no, they just took more time to smell the roses and all that.

"She knows not to get into trouble," Nessa said, adding; 'I hope,' in her head.

"Really?" It didn't sound like he believed her. "Because she's starting a mock fight with that Poochyena over there."

Nessa looked over where he was pointing and, sure enough, Zigzagoon seemed to be jumping on the other dog-like Pokémon and pushing it to the ground. She swore and moved over to the Poochyena's trainer.

"Sorry," she apologised.

"Its fine," the youngster replied, "Poochy needs the training." He was watching the two Pokémon rumble and tumble with a smile on his face.

Nessa couldn't help feeling that, so far, all the trainers she had met seemed so relaxed; like nothing could faze them. Was it something that happened when you were a trainer?

Sparing a glance at Beautifly and Zigzagoon, she saw that they were still asleep.

"Lucky," she sighed. There were a few benches attached to the ship and she sat on one. The seawater was sprayed onto her like light rain and the seat itself was hard and metallic. Overall, it was uncomfortable.

* * *

It appeared that Mr. Briney was also a bit of a health nut as lunch consisted of fruit and berries. The colourful platter was spread out on the table inside the cabin. There were line chairs there too, which Nessa gratefully sunk into.

Zigzagoon had become best friends with Poochy and both Pokémon were tucked into the corner; sleeping after their play.

Whismur had first been surprised to find that they were already on the boat, waddling around the whole deck. He jumped up onto one of the chairs and spent a few minutes gazing at the bubbling waves lapping the sides of the boat before resuming; what Nessa had dubbed, his inspection. After all that, he waddled back to Nessa and just stuck close to her.

Beautifly was a completely different story to the other two Pokémon. He took one look at the ship and ocean and went back into his Pokéball. Nessa had been surprised by this until Helen explained that some Pokémon got seasick and the Beautifly probably didn't like the movement of the ship.

Helen had been looking quite pale herself. When the food was place out, Finley had grabbed two plates and loaded them both up and brought one over to Helen; who had barely moved from her seat.

"Seasick?" Nessa questioned in a whisper. Finley had nodded in agreement.

"I'm fine," Helen growled at them, before taking a bunch of grapes from Kip. The Marshtomp was staying near her, even though he was constantly gazing out the window at the blue sky and waves. It didn't help that Steve the wingull would randomly fly up to the window and scratch at it, beckoning him outside.

"Please tell me we're going to get there soon," Helen whimpered.

"I checked with Mr. Briney earlier," Finley said, "he said it normally takes about-" he mumbled the next part.

"What?" Helen questioned.

After a pause, Finley repeated, "four hours."

"You're telling me there's still two hours before we get there?" Helen screeched quietly to him.

"That's right," Finley mumbled. He then made a quick exit, something about checking on his Pokémon.

Helen shot a glare at Nessa, who had been quietly giggling, then sighed.

"I hate boats," she grumbled, pitifully.

Nessa smiled, but she had an idea of what Helen was talking about. She hadn't shown it, but she was beginning to feel a little dizzy and the constantly rolling motion of the floor hadn't been helping. Just as she thought that, Whismur waddled over, carrying a plate of fruits. There were a few grapes, watermelon, rockmelon, slices of apple and oran berries.

"Thanks," Nessa said, taking the plate from her Pokémon. She handed him the berries and the grapes; she didn't like grapes, and dug into the rest.

* * *

Nessa was standing on deck when the island came into view. It appeared first as a small lump of brown and green on the horizon. She didn't even realise that it was the main island where Dewford town was located until Finley came out to check on her.

"Finally," he sighed, seeing the island. Seeing her confused look, he pointed at the now much larger speak of beach and trees complete with a large hill, "that's our destination; Dewford town. And about time too, I don't think I could stand another minute of Helen's frustration."

It was a slow process. The island grew and more and more details became visible as they got closer. The blue roofs of houses stood out the most and the small jetty was a welcome sight.

After a long wait, the trainers on the ferry could finally disembark. Helen practically shoved her way past everyone just to be the first onto land, where she collapsed onto the beach. Kip; after checking that she was okay, ran out into the ocean to go for a swim.

The youngster and Poochy followed her off; disembarking right after the young girl and the lady. Zigzagoon was in her ball after saying goodbye to her new friend. Nessa did the same as the youngster walked straight into town; she lost sight of him behind some buildings.

Nessa was next off. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she was hit with a strong feeling of vertigo. She stumbled and braced her legs; which trembled. It felt like she was still standing on the ferry. Spotting a bench nearby, she collapsed onto it.

"My journey's barely started and it feels like I've spent most of it sitting down," she joked to Finley.

Finley collapsed on the ground next to the chair with a laugh.

"I don't think you're the only one," he responded, pointing at Whismur. The Pokémon was waddling along the path at an angle and lightly bumped into one of the buildings.

Nessa winced as Whismur rubbed the injured spot above his cross eyes. The cross that indicated his mouth twitched and Nessa was worried that he would start crying. But no, he stood still for a few moments before relaxing and waddling awkwardly back to her.

"I can't tell whether we make a good team or whether we're just hopeless," Nessa sighed, a motion that Whismur copied.

Finley's eyes seemed to sparkle as he shot up from the ground.

"I've got the perfect idea!" he cried out. Nessa could swear she heard Helen groan, even though she was still on the beach.

"What?" she questioned, feeling that she would regret it.

"You could challenge the gym! Then we could see whether or not you're a good trainer!" After a moment of thought, he added, "and if you're truly hopeless, you won't even get to the leader."

"Oh joy," she replied sarcastically. Having evidence that she was a hopeless trainer was not what she wanted and was hardly a successful argument. Nevertheless, she did already have one badge. She glanced down at the Stone badge she had received from Roxanne and felt a slight flutter of excitement. The idea behind the badges was to collect them all by defeating gym leaders in battle and this was the perfect opportunity to get the second badge. She sighed, as if she was giving in unwillingly, "I guess I could."

He seemed so happy about her agreement that he didn't really care about her apparent reluctance.

Whismur was trembling in excitement as well, looking up at her in admiration. But, Nessa remembered something her brother had told her about the gyms; that the second specialised in fighting types and the bane of normal types.

"I'm sorry Whismur," she said to the eager Pokémon, "I don't think you'll be much help in this gym." The same applied to Zigzagoon. That only left one of her Pokémon for the gym; Beautifly. "Can I beat the gym with only one Pokémon?" she mused.

"It's not unheard of," Helen commented from behind, surprising her. Helen's long brown hair was hanging down and over her shoulders; water dripping from the strands. Her clothes were also dripping wet which made Finley start laughing at her appearance.

"What happened?" Nessa asked as Helen's eyes narrowed. She was not happy.

She hissed out one word and pointed to the sky. "Steve."

The wingull in question was sitting atop a roof, barking laughter.

"Cycle! Spark!" Helen ordered, throwing her Pokéball at the roof. A green, dog-like Electrike bounded out of the ball, sparking electricity. It opened its jaw-like mouth, displaying a few very sharp teeth. Its yellow-tipped tail wagged as it pulled its body back, ready to charge.

Finley muttered a curse right as the green streak tackled his Pokémon. Lightning crackled in the air and Steve gave a cry. White feathers came loose as the injured Pokémon fled, quickly diving into Finley's arms. Finley quickly returned Steve to his Pokéball, glaring at his sister.

Cycle jumped down from the roof and into Helen's arms. Helen petted the Pokémon, praising it for a job well done, while shooting glares at her brother.

At this point, Nessa thought it might be a good idea to flee. She had a feeling that sibling disputes between these two could cause some major destruction.

"I'm just going to head to the gym right now," she announced, almost running away.

The gym was easy to find, after all, Dewford was a small town and the gym was the largest building around. It was wide and tall, towing over the small shops and houses.

Nessa released Beautifly.

"What do you think? Think you take them all?" she asked.

Beautifly stared at her for a moment, tilting his round head. His long mouth extended and then curled back up and his bright patterned yellow wings fluttered. Then, he flew right into the gym, pausing only to wait for the automatic doors to open. Once Nessa had opened the doors for her Pokémon, they both walked straight inside.

* * *

**Author's note: **Okay, so I think I'm getting back into the swing of writing again. My thanks to Y-ko who pointed out a weakness in my writing of this story and I've tried to improve with this chapter.

Reviews are much appreciated


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **Sorry that this chapter is a little later than usual (it's also shorter), I got sick and am still sick. Spent yesterday (the day I normally post) in a bit of a feverish haze and most of the weekend feeling blech. Haven't really grammar and spell-checked beyond what Word could pick up so sorry for any errors.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Dewford Town

* * *

Nessa followed Beautifly through the gym doors, only to freeze the moment the doors slammed shut.

It was pitch black. Except for the little round light at the entrance which shined where Nessa was standing, everything was hidden in darkness. Something could jump out and attack her and she wouldn't see it until too late. Nessa strained her ears, listening for anything out of the ordinary, and took a step forward.

Then she took a step back, two steps forward and one step back. Marvellously, the light followed her! She looked up and was blinded momentarily by it.

"As you defeat trainers, the light will expand." Walking closer to the voice revealed a man standing by a Pokémon statue. He had to have been standing there the whole time because she hadn't heard him walk over.

She blushed, remembering her little dance experiment with the light. At that moment, Beautifly flew into the light and rested on her head. Beautifly let out a sigh and Nessa buckled a little as the full weight of her Pokémon dropped onto her head.

"What's wrong?" she asked the Pokémon, thinking that she wouldn't get an answer.

The man responded, "he probably tried to find the trainers hiding in the darkness. The gym trainers here are under orders to only battle challenges. A lone Pokémon won't get to fight."

Beautifly let out a little whine, nodding at the man's deduction.

"You really want to battle, huh?" Nessa questioned, excitement bubbling up in her again. She considered battling one of those things that you enjoy with others; such as your Pokémon or your opponent. "Then, let's get this show on the road."

The first trainer she found had jumped out of her from the darkness. She screamed and Beautifly let fly with a gust attack. Zigzagoon had joined in the battle, taking down two of the trainers Pokémon while Beautifly defeated the other. Overall, it was rather easy battle. Nessa gasped in surprise as the light expanded and wondered just how they had hooked the light up. It followed her and expanded as she and Beautifly took down two more trainers.

When she found the room where Brawly was waiting, she cheered. While she wasn't afraid of the dark, her heart had certainly taken a beating from the trainers jumping out at her. She believed that they just sat in the darkness waiting for challengers to jump out and frighten. However, Beautifly was a little disappointed.

"Well, I wasn't expecting any challenges for a while," Brawly said, surprised to see her standing there. He stood up on his podium and walked down. He had been meditating when Nessa had entered.

"I came here on Mr. Briney's ferry," Nessa informed him. Brawly was surprised by this information.

"That was today?" Nessa nodded. "Shoot! I was going to get some more training in before you guys arrived. Roxanne even warned me that you were all coming."

Nessa's mouth twitched at the mention of Roxanne's name. She should have expected her to warn the next person along the line about the trainers on the way, after all, she was a person who lived for information and continuous study.

Beautifly let out a small cry and landed on the ground between the two people, ready for battle.

Brawly laughed and pulled out a Pokéball. "Alright, alright, let's battle."

His first Pokémon went down in two attacks from Beautifly. The butterfly Pokémon was on a roll. Brawly's next Pokémon; a yellow Makuhita, was a little tougher. It was round and bulky, standing up to Beautifly's attempts to gust it away. It managed to get a few arm thrust attacks in before being blown into the wall.

Amazingly enough, it managed to stand back up. It raised its black gloves into the air and bulked up. Even so, it still had to fight against Beautifly's gust winds to even land a blow on the butterfly Pokémon.

On Nessa's command; Beautifly stopped using gust for a moment, giving Makuhita a chance to attack.

"Gust!" Nessa ordered the moment the yellow Pokémon jumped up. Without its feet on the ground, the fighting Pokémon was blown away and knocked out. Beautifly did a little flip in the air and dropped back onto Nessa's head. It watched as Brawly handed over the Knuckle badge and congratulated them both. Nessa marvelled at the shiny blue and orange badge which was shaped like a round boxing glove, before attaching it onto the inside of her jacket under the golden Stone badge.

"Hmm, looks like another challenger is heading this way," Brawly commented, looking up.

Nessa followed his gaze and saw a beam of light moving around the gym's maze.

"There's a back door you can use to leave," Brawly said, motioning to a dark spot behind him.

Nessa nodded and returned Beautifly to its ball; the Pokémon was about to go off and battle the challenger, before walking back into the darkness. There was the whirling sound of automatic doors opening and she emerged outside the gym.

"Bright!" she winced as the light of sun beat down on her. Her eyes watered and she ended up almost walking into a wall.

"You know, Helen insisted on taking her sunglasses into the gym when we challenged it," she heard Finley comment from behind her.

"A little warning would have been nice," Nessa whined, squinting in the light. She was finally able to make out figures; instead of blurs of colour.

Finley was leaning against the back wall of the gym, the black automatic doors she had exited from next to him.

"Where's the fun in that?" he questioned, "besides, it was nice to see someone do the same thing I did. Except I actually hit the wall. I swear it's only there for trainers to run into."

Nessa looked at the wall. It was a simple brick wall with colourful graffiti decorating it. She walked around it and saw that it was the back wall for a basketball half-court. She slightly agreed with Finley, there didn't seem to be much point to the wall other than to torture trainers.

"So, did you win?" Finley asked.

Nessa nodded and showed him the badge.

"Awesome!" he cheered, "let's go celebrate with some fish and chips! They have the best places here!"

* * *

After they ate, Nessa walked over to the Pokémon centre to book a room for the night. Mr. Briney's ferry wasn't leaving until the next morning and there wasn't enough room on the ferry for any of the passengers to stay the night. Nessa wasn't upset; although the lady passenger had been very upset for some reason, the ferry ride had been free and she had a little of her winnings from the first gym left and all her winnings from the second gym.

Pokémon centres didn't charge much for a night anyway.

"I'm sorry, our rooms are all booked out," the attendant told her.

Nessa deflated.

"This really is a rarity. We normally don't have many trainers booking rooms, maybe three or four a month, but today every room is booked," the attendant continued, sounding amazed.

"It's because Mr. Briney ferried a group of us over," Nessa sighed.

"Really? That would explain it then. But, we don't have many rooms in the first place. He really should have only ferried a few over at a time-"

"He didn't have much of a choice," Nessa interrupted, defending the kind seafarer. He didn't have to ferry them around but was doing so because they needed to get somewhere. "We all needed the ride."

The attendant was still frowning as she didn't agree.

Nessa jolted as a cold hand touched her shoulder. A voice croaky from use but still feminine, spoke up;

"Darling, do you know why Mr. Briney took us all at once?" It was the older woman from the boat. Her sweet, soft and flowery perfume wafted over Nessa, reminding her of her own grandmother. While the woman was speaking to her, Nessa had the feeling that these words were also for the attendant. "This trip to Slateport is a one-way journey. Once we arrive at our destination, the ferry will be decommissioned and sunk. Don't make that face, it is an old ferry and won't be seaworthy for much longer. It is but a coincidence that the tunnel collapsed the very week Mr. Briney's ferry was scheduled to make its final journey. In addition, Route 108 is dangerous, filled with shallow waters and rocks which would threaten to sink even the most seaworthy of ships. He'll need us trainers to help him make it through this last leg of the journey."

Nessa felt her lip tremble when the woman had finished talking. It wasn't that she was scared, right now she couldn't fathom the dangers of the sea, it was that she was sad for Mr. Briney and his ferry. It seemed like a shame to sink the ship while it could still float on the waves.

She was slightly consoled by the expression on the attendant's face. Her face had gone a deep shade of red and she was biting her lower lip in frustration and embarrassment.

But, the older woman wasn't done yet.

"Now, I may be an old woman and many things might have changed over the years but I believe that in the case that a trainer cannot get a room, the trainer in question will be allowed to rest in the centre lobby."

"Really?" Nessa had not known that.

The older woman nodded and pointed over at the long cushioned seating built into the wall.

"We should be allowed to spend the night on those," she said, "it might not be comfortable but we'll make do, right?"

Nessa nodded in response. So, Pokémon centres were required to give trainers a place to stay; at least overnight. She had not known that.

Nessa had a journal; although it was more of a small binder, in which she wrote travelling and training tips in. Sitting at one of the tables, she added the information the older woman had told her to the Pokémon centre page. While she was at it, she flipped to the page which described Dewford town.

"Dewford Hall; everyone's information exchange," she read. There was a picture of the building and another picture of a young guy with curly brown hair and dark eyes giving a victory sign to the camera. She didn't really understand why the picture was there or the meaning of the two words scribbled in the margin; 'Challenge Egg.'

It was interesting enough to warrant a visit, after all, she had been provided with this great chance.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Fear

* * *

Dewford Hall was a large building. It was as wide as the gym, but not as long, and was taller. The blue roof overhung a bit, creating some shade over the front of the building. It appeared to come in handy because there was a man standing next to the door under the shade.

His hair was curly brown and his eyes were dark. He was wearing a simple green singlet, shorts and was barefoot.

"Hey! You know what's hip-and-happening?" he asked as Nessa walked up to the door.

Nessa was frozen for a moment as she tried to process what he had said. "Pardon?" she questioned when she couldn't make sense of it.

"You know, what's hip-and-happening? The trendy phrase that shows you know your info?"

Nessa thought about it for a moment.

"The only phrase I can think of is 'Challenge Egg'," she responded, remembering what had been written in the journal, "is that it?"

The man smiled.

"You are certainly up with what's hip-and-happening," he responded, sounding proud of her, "you may enter."

Although he was a little weird, Nessa thanked the man and entered the building.

* * *

The ceiling was high and it reminded Nessa of being in a sports arena, except it was quieter. The only noises which could be heard were the music and voices from the television and the voices of people chatting and arguing.

"Oh, hello!" a feminine voice called out. A woman sitting at a nearby table waved at Nessa. "Are you new?"

Nessa wandered over and took a seat across from the woman. There appeared to be tables right across this wall and there was at least one person sitting at all of them.

There were also two sofas in front of a television, a sofa squeezed between the bookshelves lining the back wall and a doorway covered by beads which lead goodness-knows-where.

"This is Dewford Hall, a place where people come to gossip," the woman explained, her long brown hair bouncing a little as she giggled. "They're playing all the seasons of the 'Challenge Egg' TV show and all the books are about 'Challenge Egg' but people can talk about anything they want." She shrugged. "But most people; especially the regulars, chose to talk about 'Challenge Egg'."

"There's a TV show?" Nessa questioned in surprise. She had never heard the phrase before today yet, there was the television show? And books?

"Well, yeah," the woman said, nonchalantly, "after the popularity of the movie; 'The last Challenge Egg', making a TV show was the next move."

Nessa just nodded, too shocked to speak. This made her realise that she had been living a sheltered life before this. To think that there was a movie, TV show and numerous books about something she had never heard of.

"Anyway, where did you come from?" the woman asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Nessa answered the woman's questions; telling her about her hometown, the tunnel and what she was doing in Dewford Town. She released Beautifly from his Pokéball when the woman asked to meet the Pokémon that defeated Brawly's Makuhita. A few other people came up and shared stories with Nessa. Most of them had lived their lives on the island but they had met almost every trainer who had come through. One of them even told her about the two Trainers who went on to capture Kyogre and Groudon. She had heard about them, but not that one of them almost drowned in the ocean when they went for a swim or that the other ran into a wall in the gym so hard that their nose bled.

Nessa was listening to two people discussing how they knew more about 'Challenge Egg' than the other when someone interrupted.

"Did you hear the news?" they asked and without waiting for a reply, they continued, "one of the trainers who came on Mr. Briney's ship vanished in Granite Cave!"

Nessa froze. She had known that there was a cave on the island; she was just hoping that her trip wouldn't involve it at all.

Of course, she didn't have to do anything; there were groups which could search for the missing trainer. But, Beautifly heard the news and was off, most likely to try and find the trainer. Nessa bolted after her Pokémon, following it around the building and down the beach.

"Beautifly! No!" she called out, visions of falling rocks invading her head. She had heard that a butterfly Pokémon's wings were really easy to tear.

The thought that Beautifly's beautiful wings could be crushed under rocks made Nessa's heart skip a few beats.

She watched her Pokémon flutter into and be swallowed up by the darkness of the cave. However, Nessa froze at the entrance. Feeling the cooler air scented with dirt hit her face and seeing the rocks inside made her feel like she was back in the tunnel with the walls crumbling around her.

She shivered. There was no way she was going in there, but, she couldn't just leave her Pokémon.

"What do I do?" she whined beginning to pace outside the entrance. She cursed her headstrong Beautifly and spent a few moments mad at the Pokémon for not following her orders.

Another one of her Pokéballs shook in her jacket and she pulled it out.

"Whismur?" she questioned, releasing the Pokémon.

Whismur stood tall and pointed a single pink arm at itself.

"You want to go in?" she guessed.

Whismur shook his head, his yellow-tipped floppy ears whipping through the air. The Pokémon then pointed down the way Nessa had come.

"You want to get help?" Nessa guessed again. The Pokémon nodded the affirmative and began to bolt down the path.

Nessa sighed and sat down under the shade of a nearby tree. She placed her head in her hands and tried to calm down enough to think. Her head was still filled with the images of falling rocks and, not only was it annoying and giving her a headache but, she was unable to concentrate on anything else.

She needed a plan. A plan, a plan, something, anything.

"Do you have sunstroke or something?" Helen's voice was a welcome distraction.

Nessa's head shot up at her voice and she was overjoyed to see Whismur with the trainer.

"There's a trainer lost in the cave so Beautifly decided to fly in after him, I can't go into the cave and I have no idea where to find either of them. Help!" she blurted out in a rush.

"So, you lost Beautifly inside the cave. That's easily solved," Helen said, dropping her bag from her back and pulling out a Pokéball and flashlight. She passed the ball to Nessa. "That's for you. It's a fire Pokémon, the companion to my Marshtomp and bro's Grovyle. Well, once it evolves that is. There's steel-type Pokémon in there so it'll help. You can keep it too."

Nessa didn't know what to say. Was Helen really just giving her a Pokémon? Sure, Nessa had accepted Beautifly as a gift but he was from her sister, not someone she just met.

It seemed that Helen wasn't waiting for a response either. The trainer grabbed Nessa's free hand and pulled her into the dark, cool cave. Nessa's feet dragged her and her heart rate spiked. She glanced back at the bright exit, which was receding into the distance, and panicked.

Helen had let go of her hand and was fiddling with the switch on the flashlight. She seemed oblivious to Nessa's panic.

Whismur wasn't. The Pokémon was by Nessa's side in an instance. He wrapped his little arms around her leg and reminded her that he was there. When Nessa bent down to pet him, in a panicked daze, he pushed the release on the Pokéball in her hand.

"Chic!" the released Pokémon cried, lighting up their surroundings with a few bursts of flame. He also managed to torch a few nearby wild Pokémon.

Nessa picked up her new team member. He fit snugly in her hands was warm and fluffy to the touch. The chick Pokémon had orange feather with small yellow wings and three stray yellow feathers sticking out of his head.

After a few moments, the Pokémon jumped out of her hands and to the ground. It pointed a wing in a random direction are started waddling that way.

"Do you even know what we're doing here?" Helen questioned, putting her hands on her hips.

"Chick!" the Pokémon; Torchic, responded, fluttering its wings and puffing up its feathers. Nessa wondered if he thought they were there to train.

As Helen explained the situation to the Pokémon, Nessa tried to calm down. She had already found that she couldn't get her voice to work. Her throat felt constricted and her erratic breathing made it difficult to get her mouth to move to form sounds. Her heartbeat quickly and she felt lightheaded. She preferred the light-headedness to the thoughts of falling rocks though.

The rocks in the walls felt uncomfortably close and too far away at the same time. They felt too close because she could see them all around her. But, there was so much space between her and the walls that nothing would protect her should the ceiling fall in. She was being irrational and she knew it but, she couldn't stop her thoughts. Every creak and groan, the far away sound of water dripping, they all reminded her of being trapped in the tunnel and having just escaped death. Helen kicked a rock and sent it crumbling across the ground and Nessa jolted and froze all at once, like a deer in headlights.

She couldn't do this. It had only been a few minutes and she was exhausted.

And then they reached the hole in the ground. Helen put the torch in her teeth and began to climb down.

All Nessa could see was darkness. She could hear Pokémon cries coming from below and could feel the cold cave air buffeting her face. The smell of dirt, dust and metal was enough to give her pause.

Through her panic, one thought popped into her head; would Beautifly really go down there? Maybe it was just an excuse so she wouldn't have to go down but it did have some validity.

Nessa looked to her new teammate, who was just sitting by the ladder down and watching Helen climb. She tapped the Pokémon on the head and pointed up to a random area, hoping the Pokémon would understand.

It seemed that Torchic did. He fired a burst of flame towards the ceiling, lighting it up enough for Nessa to see their surroundings. When the flame died down, she pointed again and again.

Finally, a flash of yellow caught her eye. Beautifly flew into her arms, his wings buffeting her face.

"Ah, so that's your Pokémon, is it?" the youngster said, jumping down from a ledge. "It flew up to me and wouldn't leave me alone."

"Maybe that's because the whole island has listed you a missing," Helen sniped, "you do know that we're leaving tomorrow?" She had recognised the youngster from the ferry.

"A guy can't train?" the youngster questioned with a shrug.

Nessa turned her back to the argument and headed straight for the light which signified the exit. She had found Beautifly, Beautifly had found the youngster trainer and she could leave the cave. And leave the cave she did, breathing in the scent of the sea and sand as soon as she felt the sun on her face. She almost collapsed right there on the beach, she was drained.

* * *

Whismur didn't leave Nessa's side for the rest of the day. He even slept beside the shaken girl during the night. Not that Nessa slept well. The Pokémon centre chairs were not made for sleeping on. While they were long and she was able to lie her body across one, they were hard. The cover over the chair was minimal, designed only for the comfort of the buttocks not the body. She couldn't get comfortable as part of the chair rose up while another had been indented.

Thankfully, Helen had lent her a blanket so she wasn't cold. Finley lent her his sunglasses so that the centre lights wouldn't bother her. Because the Pokémon centre was a 24-hour service, the lights in the lobby were always on. Nessa was also roused from her less-than-restful sleep when the attendant and nurse on duty changed and when they had their break. At one point Finley stretched in his sleep and knocked his bag from the table to the ground, waking everyone in the lobby. Helen mumbled in her sleep, something that sounded like a song. Pokémon shuffled, twitched and growled in their sleep. Every creak, rustle and grunt was magnified hundredfold; or so it seemed.

Nessa didn't feel safe, even with her Pokémon watching over her. Like the other trainers in the lobby, she had gone to "bed" with a Pokémon resting next to her. She started the night with Whismur by her side, but she noticed that her Pokémon seemed to switch shifts through the night. One time she woke, Zigzagoon was curled up at her back, she had squeezed between the back of the chair and Nessa. Another time, it was Torchic who was stalking up and down the length of the chair, just like a soldier. By morning, it was Whismur. He was sleeping on the ground while curling his ears around her bag.

Due to her fitful sleep, Nessa was the first trainer up. She sat up, grabbed her bag and picked up Whismur and walked outside.

The sun was just rising, tinting the clouds bright white and yellow. The sky was still grey, a colour that the ocean reflected. The air was cool and smelt of salt water spray.

"So, morning person or not?" Helen questioned in a whisper. She had followed Nessa outside.

Nessa smiled. She had the feeling that she wasn't the only one awake.

"Back home, I didn't really sleep in but I didn't wake up ridiculously early either," Nessa responded quietly. But, she hadn't been sleeping well since the tunnel collapse. She either slept late, trying to catch up on the sleep she didn't get during the night, or didn't sleep well at all.

"I used to sleep in," Helen admitted, leaning close so Nessa could hear. "But, you can't sleep late when you're a trainer. People expect you to sign out before nine, so I learnt to wake up."

"What about Finley?"

Helen shrugged and glanced at her watch.

"He'll be up in half-an-hour. He's an early bird, something that never changed during our journey. You can set a watch to him," she grumbled.

Nessa laughed silently.

"Let's get some breakfast," Helen suggested, pointing down the street, "there's a place that opens at five."

Nessa agreed and her stomach rumbled in agreement as well. She had a feeling that she might not get another chance to eat until the ferry docked in Slateport.

* * *

**Author Notes:** Sorry for the lateness of this chapter.There's no reason why this one is late, it was all ready and done and I just forgot to edit and upload it.

Important note: I'm going to visit my grandparents over the next week or so (leaving Friday) so, chances are that there will not be an update. It's going to be hard enough to check my email, let alone upload and post a fanfiction. Check back in around two weeks for the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - To Slateport!

* * *

Nessa couldn't help the flutter of nerves that tingled in her belly as the ship began to move. There was a bad feeling in her gut, a feeling of premonition. Finley told her that she was being silly and she hadn't brought the issue up with Helen yet.

"It'll be okay," she heard the parasol lady try to comfort the young girl. While the girl nodded bravely, Nessa wondered if it was true.

"Just being silly," she told herself, shaking her head. Everyone travelling was a trainer with at least one badge; Mr. Briney had said as much, there was no way anything could happen.

There was a Pokémon cry from behind her and she was slightly surprised to see Kip standing behind her. The Marshtomp was standing tall on his two legs, holding out a large arm for her to take. The dark fin atop his head twitched as she bent down to take the Pokémon's large, blue hand.

And he was off. Nessa almost stumbled trying to keep up as Kip pulled her around the boat, stopping right before Helen. Helen was standing at the bow of the boat with her eyes focused on the horizon. Kip moved behind Nessa and gave her a slight tap towards Helen.

"Helen?" Nessa questioned. When she didn't move, Nessa changed her gaze to the ocean. It seemed calm, the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in sight. It was also empty. Except for a few rocks dotted off in the distance, there was nothing to see but water and sky.

"There's a storm coming." It was the older woman again. Nessa remembered her name from their previous encounter; Jane.

"How can you tell?" Nessa questioned.

"I can feel it," Jane responded in a mysterious way.

Helen snorted and finally took her eyes off the horizon.

"She means that there are some clouds out there, heading this way. I had Finley send Steve out there. Temperature's dropped too. Something's coming and it's not nice."

With confirmation that things were not right, the nervous tingle in Nessa's belly thinned out. It didn't vanish but it stopped being intense and annoying.

"So, what do we do?" she asked wondering if they would just turn around.

"Nothing we can do right now, dear," Jane said. The woman pulled a magazine out of her bag and made herself comfortable up against the wall of the cabin. "Let's just hope that Mr. Briney is as good as they say he is."

Somehow that wasn't as inspiring as Jane possibly intended it to be. Nessa glanced behind the boat and spotted what appeared to be a growing expanse of fluffy cloud. It grew up, as if it was clawing its way to the sky, and seemed to be heading straight for their boat.

* * *

Mr. Briney came later. He walked around the ship, barking orders to the trainers;

"Get inside the cabin, find yourselves a lifejacket!" Nessa was quick to comply. She had been watching the clouds move closer and grow darker. The ship was already starting to rock more fiercely on the waves. She did not like this at all.

It appeared she wasn't the only one. The little girl was still and unmoving as the parasol lady tried to explain what was going on. Helen was silent and curled up on a bench at the back with Kip on guard beside her.

"Surf or no surf, he'll get me to shore," she mumbled as Nessa came over. Nessa found herself wondering if there was anyone on this boat that actually liked sailing.

Her answer came in the form of a large, green frog-like Pokémon that came crawling into the cabin. The Lombre tipped his green lily-pad head to the trainers before wandering back outside.

"What was that about?" The little girl asked, confused. She wasn't the only one. In fact, the only person who was not confused was Helen.

"Finley," she growled almost instantly. In response to Nessa's unasked question, she continued, "he's going to have his Pokémon try and protect the ship. Stupid boy."

Nessa glanced at the door and contemplated going back outside to try and help. It was then that she noticed that Jane was not inside either. Hadn't the older woman said something about Mr. Briney needing trainer's help?

"Route 108," she mumbled, remembering that she had written the route down with a warning in her journal. "Have we reached Route 108 yet?" she questioned in a louder voice.

There were confused looks all around.

"I don't think so," the parasol lady responded, "did anyone see the Abandoned Ship?"

There were head-shakes all around.

"It took longer than this to reach Route 108 the first time around," Helen recalled, "but we should be close."

Nessa nodded and was going to make her way outside when there was a loud bang. Almost as sudden, the pounding of water hitting the ship could be heard. She stumbled as the boat seemed to tip almost completely to one side.

"You're not going out there?" the little girl questioned in a squeak.

She certainly wasn't going to stay here. Nervous energy had been building up in her body for the past hour. Nessa had found that she didn't like being cooped up where she couldn't see a thing. It just made everything worse. She figured the boat could tip upside down and they wouldn't know and something about that just felt wrong.

She didn't respond to the girl's question, she just tried to push the cabin door open enough for her to slip out. The moment the door opened a crack, water pounded onto her face along with wind which tried to force the door shut again.

"Not too bright, is she?" the parasol lady mumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Helen shot the woman a glare and shakily stood up. She took Kip's arm and whispered something to the Pokémon.

"Take Kip with you!" she said, her voice straining to be heard over the incoming sounds of the storm.

Nessa nodded and the Pokémon waddled over to her and right out the door. It had very few problems moving around in this weather. She felt stronger with the water Pokémon's presence but she still wished that someone would come with her.

Even so, she took a deep breath and stepped out. The wind almost forced her eyes shut and she was blinking rapidly. Even so, she was only able to make out blurred shapes and fat water drops that pounded as they landed. Her head was down and her body was heavy with water as she made her way up slippery stairs to where she suspected Mr. Briney to be.

Partway up the stairs, just as she slipped for the third time, a hand gripped her upper arm.

"Nessa! What are you doing here?" It was Finley, yelling just to be heard. Nessa tried to ignore the pounding around her and focus on his voice but it was hard.

Instead, she pulled herself up and kept moving until they were able to take some shelter in the bridge; the area where Mr. Briney controlled the ferry. It was situated above the cabin and the back was completely open, allowing for the wind and rain to enter. The floor and walls were wet but that didn't stop Nessa from leaning against them and sliding to the ground for a moment to try and catch her breath. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stop water from entering as she took a few deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" Finley asked in a yell, right near her ear.

"I'm fine!" she replied, "what about you?"

"I've got my Lombre and Jane's Lanturn out there, showing us where the rocks are!"

Nessa stood up and took a look out the front windows. There were flashes of light in the darkness of the storm, flashes that were not lightning. They were steady like torches although they seemed to move as she stared at them.

"The Pokémon move Flash," Jane explained. Although the older woman's voice was soft, somehow Nessa could hear it over the wind and pounding rain. "Can be used to light caves and, in our situation, can be used to locate the Pokémon in the rain."

"Jimmy and Lanturn are showing us where the rocks are so we can safely navigate!" Finley added, pointing at Mr. Briney who turned the ship away from one of the lights as he spoke.

"Oh." Nessa felt a little stupid. They seemed to have everything under control. "Do you need any help?"

Mr. Briney said something which Finley relayed to her, "got any water Pokémon? If you send them out we can use them to help steer the boat!" Nessa wondered how the Pokémon knew what to do and her confusion must have shown on her face because Finley added, "Peeko is out there, relaying our orders. Plus, the Pokémon know to keep the boat away from the Flash."

"Helen sent Kip out with me," Nessa said, pointing at the Pokémon. She didn't know whether Finley heard her, but his head swivelled around to see the Pokémon waving at him from the top of the stairs.

"Kip! Brilliant! You heard what to do, right?" he yelled. The Pokémon nodded and vanished into the darkness a moment later.

Nessa flinched as the boat gave a groan and tilted to the side a little. She slid across the ground a few inches before scrambling into a standing position and gripping a bar that was built into the wall.

"How much longer?" she couldn't help asking Finley. She didn't want to bother to older two and he probably knew anyway.

"Only an hour or so!" An hour or so? She suppressed a groan, hopefully she wouldn't get sick. She squeezed some water out of her shirt and pulled herself closer to where Mr. Briney was standing.

"Alright, the water Pokémon is out there, what else can I do?" she asked, ready to help.

* * *

**Author notes: **So, I'm back. This chapter might seem a bit off just because I've only been on a ferry a few times and never during a storm so I don't really know much about sailing. This is part guesswork and part research. Also, quickly edited so there may be a few mistakes (there is one internal grammar error but, that's because it's speech and speech is different).

Reviews are appreciated (and I love them)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Arrival

* * *

Mr. Briney called out to Nessa. She grabbed and pulled the wheel towards her as he started to lose his grip. The ferry groaned as it made a sharp turn, just missing the rocks. A wave created by Kip rammed into the other side, keeping the boat from travelling too far off course.

* * *

The air roared as the sky continued to pound them with water. Nessa was coughing a little as she was breathing a little bit of water with each breath.

* * *

Finally, the rain slowed to a stop. The dark clouds began to vanish, the bright sun almost blinding them. The ocean stopped its attack and returned to rolling waves.

Nessa was drenched, her clothes taking on an uncomfortable dampness as the air began to warm. She shivered a little as a light breeze blew.

"I forgot that it's still daytime," Finley chuckled. He looked just as bad as she felt. His eyes squinted in the light and his arms hung loosely at his sides.

"Almost there," Mr. Briney announced. Nessa immediately looked out the window and noted the yellow expanse on the horizon. Relief flooded through her. "You kids get some sleep before we land."

"You might want to change out of those clothes before you do," Jane said.

"Nah. It'll be," Finley trailed off with a yawn, and then continued, "fine."

Nessa nodded, although she wasn't sure where they would change. Everyone else was in the cabin and she wasn't about to change where anyone could see her.

* * *

Nessa returned to wakefulness as something soft tickled her nose. She scrunched up her face and hoped it would go away but it returned with a voice.

"Wakey, wakey."

She growled and rolled over. She opened her eyes and glared at Helen.

"It wasn't me," she said, pointing at the end of the bench where Finley was kneeling. In his hand was a feather, possibly one of Steve's, which had been the source of Nessa's discomfort. "Anyway," Helen continued, all business, "it's almost five. Mr. Briney has been very nice and let you and Finley continue to sleep even after docking but, we need to get going."

"Everyone else has gone already," Finley added, sounding a little upset at being left behind.

Nessa sighed and rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes. She was still a bit exhausted but the rest had done her good. Even though her arms were beginning to ache and her back felt like something was sticking into it. She wrapped her hand around the handle of her bag and pulled it up, gasping in surprise as how heavy it seemed. She could only hold it off the ground for a moment, the bag dropping back to the ground with a thump.

Finley seemed as surprised as she was but Helen was holding back a snicker.

"You overdid it," she said, not surprised at all, "pulling at ropes and wheels will do that."

Nessa glared at her traitorous bag. She missed the adrenaline rush she had during the storm, it had allowed her to get things done.

"Get someone to carry it for you," Helen suggested. Nessa noticed that she was already carrying two bags; her backpack on her back and Finley's messenger bag strapped over her shoulder. It looked very cumbersome.

Nessa pulled out Whismur's Pokéball and stared at it. She didn't want to use her Pokémon as pack mules but it didn't seem like she had a choice. Finley didn't appear to be in any condition to carry her bag and he had already tried while Helen was talking. He had been very surprised to find that he could only drag the bag a few centimetres across the ground before he had exerted himself. Nessa guessed that Helen had picked up his bag before he had a chance to discover how weak he was.

"Not fair," she heard his grumble as she made her decision. She would ask her Pokémon if they wouldn't mind carrying her bag.

Whismur was first. The Pokémon appeared in an instant but, before she had a chance to speak, the Pokémon toddled over to her bag. He threaded his little pink arms through the straps and, in one swift movement, pulled the bag onto his back.

"There's a lesson in this. Don't underestimate your Pokémon," Helen told her when her jaw dropped.

The round and little pink Pokémon looked almost like he could be crushed under the much larger bag. Even so, he toddled his way up to the entrance of the cabin and turned back to them. It was like he was asking, 'are you coming?' and Nessa found herself smiling at the sight.

Finley bounded after the Pokémon. It appeared that he had forgotten his weak moment from before. Helen shrugged and followed after them. She seemed to have a bit of trouble walking straight, since the bag at her side unbalanced her. Nessa stood up tenderly, letting out a silent hiss as her aching legs trembled under her weight. She wouldn't let that stop her, taking conscious step after conscious step until she felt more comfortable walking.

* * *

Once again, the ground seemed to move under her feet. It was a reaction from sailing but that didn't stop her from hating it. She considered going after the fifth gym badge when this was all over just so she could use the Pokémon move Surf to travel across the sea.

After being slightly blinded for a moment, she spotted her Pokémon and two friends standing on the beach. Whismur was waving at her, telling her to hurry up and the other two were arguing about something.

"I'm fine carrying the bags!" Helen could be heard saying as she got closer.

"Come on," Finley sounded almost like he was whining, "surely I can carry my own bag. Besides, you're a girl-" he didn't get to finish as Helen pulled out a Pokéball.

"Say that again!" she threatened.

"Guys, I'm going," Nessa told them. She wasn't going to wait around for them to finish fighting, if they ever did finish. Besides, she knew that she would be able to meet up with them at the Pokémon centre.

She could hear the noise of Slateport city beckoning her. There were contests in this place and a museum; and that's just what she knew about. She slowed her pace to Whismur's as they walked up the beach and onto a stone path. She could see tents in the distance, just past a white fence.

"A market?" she mumbled happily. There were stalls set up under different coloured tents with people walking around. Some appeared to be doing their groceries here as their baskets were filled vegetables, meat and other food items.

Whismur found her a sweet smelling stall where she bought a pastry for herself and for her Pokémon. Nessa knew that she didn't have much money but, she figured she could do a little splurging.

"Come to the Seashore House - the place for hot trainers!" It was a little girl calling that out, her voice struggling to rise above the crowd. She was holding a big sign with the words 'Seashore House' and 'this way' and pointing back towards the beach.

"What do you think?" Nessa asked Whismur.

The Pokémon glanced up at her and then back to the girl, undecided.

"Beat all the trainers inside and receive a prize!" the girl continued, unaware of Nessa's interest.

"Prize?" she perked up at the word. One of the Pokéballs in her pocket jiggled excitedly; Beautifly just as excited. Nessa reached down for her bag and tried to lift it, but failed. Whismur gave a small cry of annoyance and bolted ahead, ready to find this 'Seashore House' if it would keep his trainer from straining herself.

"Hey, wait up!" Nessa called, walking back onto the sand.

* * *

The Seashore House was a small building on the beach. The double doors were open wide and Nessa could hear banging and cheering from within.

"Wow," she commented to herself as she stepped in. The building was rather cool for being on the beach as the open windows and doors let light and breeze in. There were benches set up all around the inside walls and there were a four benches complete with long chairs in the middle.

A Wingull flapped and ducked under one of the middle tables, just missing an attack from the opposing Machop. The grey humanoid Pokémon just managed to stop its attack from hitting the table. The two Pokémon exchanged blows, their trainers standing before the audience. The audience were sitting along the benches around the inside walls. Many had drinks in their hands and a few were eating while they watched the battle.

Nessa took a seat in the corner, Whismur dropping her bag beside her and climbing up onto her lap.

The battles seemed simple. Two challenges fought it out and the trainers watching could challenge the winner. Once there weren't any more challengers, the victorious trainer would win the prize. It was half a dozen bottles of Soda Pop, a drink that both humans and Pokémon could enjoy.

"Any challengers?" the owner, Mr. Sea, called out. The trainer who owned the Machop had won; a large man in a white and blue sailor outfit.

Nessa returned Whismur to his Pokéball and stood up, raising her hand. She balked a little as the audience started to murmur. Her stomach fluttered nervously but she wanted to enjoy this. She remembered crawling through the grass outside of Rustboro, searching for wild Pokémon to battle. This should be a better way of training, the challengers come to her and she would gain experience battling with other people.

It was amazing that she made it this far without battling many trainers.

"Alright! We have a new challenger!" Mr. Sea stepped down from the crate he had been standing on and walked over to Nessa. "You're a new face, miss," he said, "first time at the Seashore House?"

Nessa nodded.

"Okay, so you can only use Pokémon under level twenty," Mr. Sea pointed out, "you'll find that most of my patrons only have Pokémon lower levelled than that anyway. You can't break any of the furniture, doing so is an automatic loss and I'll make you fix it or pay to replace it. Attacking the audience is also an automatic loss, even if it was an accidental attack. A tip: stand in front of the audience, it helps your Pokémon's aim. Finally, leaving when there are still challengers means you forfeit the prize. Of course, beat enough regulars and no one will want to battle you." He laughed and Nessa smiled. He seemed like a nice guy, making sure she understood the rules before battling. All her Pokémon were still under level twenty so the level restriction didn't apply to her yet.

"Ready!" Mr. Sea ordered, holding up a hand. The murmurings of the audience dropped into silence. Nessa pulled out a Pokéball and released Torchic. The little Pokémon puffed up its feathers, ready to fight.

The opposing Machop glared down at the little chick Pokémon. When the call to battle rang out, Torchic quickly jumped into its face and scratched with his little clawed feet. It was a red and orange blur; ducking under tables when Machop tried to attack it, jumping over Machop's low kicks and retaliating with scratches and embers.

The battle didn't last long as Machop wasn't able to endure the quick little chick's attacks and dropped to the ground before its trainer. Torchic stopped attacking the moment the other Pokémon went down and toddled back over to Nessa.

Nessa heard a few people let out gasps of surprise and she smiled. She knew that, for a little Pokémon, Torchic was a good battling Pokémon. It didn't hesitate to attack like the Machop did, it was small enough and got close enough to keep its attacks from touching any of the tables and bench-chairs.

"Not over yet," the Sailor said, adjusting his white, round hat. "Tentacool!"

The jellyfish-like blue Pokémon appeared on one of the tables, not at all fazed by being out of the water. Its two brown tentacles were held out, ready to fight and the round; red marks on its blue body seemed to flash in the light.

Nessa returned Torchic to his Pokéball and released Beautifly. This was going to be a quick battle.

* * *

**Author's notes: **A new chapter! I feel like I'm missing something skill-wise... anyway, I managed to find the repeated sentence that freddycoops informed me of (it was in chapter 3) and it's fixed!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Another Battle, Another Day

* * *

The tentacool fell quickly, Beautifly absorbing all its energy in one hit. There was a whoop of cheer from the last trainer defeated by the Sailor as the opposing Pokémon was returned to its Pokéball.

"Alright," Mr. Sea sounded surprised, "anyone willing to challenge the newcomer?"

Nessa's stomach fluttered nervously. She wondered who the next opponent would be.

The snooty voiced woman who stepped up to battle her was not what she expected. Manicured nails that were visible even from across the room, dirty and dyed blond hair that fell messily past her shoulders and she looked like she'd never seen a battle in her life.

"Don't get overconfident now," she warned Nessa.

Nessa figured it was slightly true, for all she knew; this woman could be a champion. Johanna, Mr. Sea announced her as, released her first Pokémon with a flourish.

It was a Goldeen. The white and orange fish Pokémon lay with its belly resting on the floor and looked determinedly at Nessa.

Nessa was shocked at first. Then, she realised that the fish Pokémon was less likely to break things if it hit them, because it couldn't put enough power behind its movements. If Nessa's Pokémon accidently broke the floor or something while trying to attack it, she'd lose.

She had to take this seriously.

Beautifly was still out of his Pokéball, so she called on him to finish the battle.

"Absorb!" she ordered pointing at the Goldeen. Absorb was an attack that wouldn't risk any of the surroundings, unlike gust which could blow things apart.

Green lights trailed from the Goldeen to Beautifly. Nessa held her breath and she suspected those watching were doing the same thing.

The Goldeen kneeled over, its fins flopped to the ground and eyes closed. A collective gasp echoed through the room.

Nessa wanted to say, 'is that it?' but she held back her comment.

"Nessa wins!" Mr. Sea announced after a moment. He sounded as bewildered as Nessa felt. That had been easy.

"I'll challenge her!" a high voice called out before Mr. Sea could continue. A small boy in swimming trunks bounced up to position. He held a tuber's ring around his body and Nessa spotted Pokéballs strapped inside. His dark hair was damp and she guessed that he had been for a swim earlier.

"Good luck, Simon!" a few kids called from near the entrance. A few others in the audience cheered for him too, automatically backing the kid from Slateport over the stranger from somewhere.

Simon nodded to the people watching and pulled out a Pokéball, releasing a small and blue Azurill from inside. Nessa wondered what he was thinking, water was obviously weak against grass and she had used a grass move earlier.

"Sorry about this," she mumbled under her breath. She didn't know whether she wanted him to hear her or not. This was a battle and she didn't intend to lose. "Absorb!" she ordered.

Beautifly obeyed, not even hesitating for a moment. It seemed the Pokémon felt the same way as she did; Beautifly was here to win. In one swift move, the Pokémon went down.

With that move, Nessa knew she was certainly not the fan favourite. Glancing back, she saw a few people with hot chips and wondered if there was a policy about not pelting the trainers. She really hoped there was.

"Not down yet!" Simon responded, a few people cheering for him. His friends hadn't stopped calling out encouragements since the battle had started. "Marill!"

A blue Pokémon similar to Azurill appeared. It was larger than its predecessor with a white spot on its belly. It resembled a round mouse, with two large circular ears atop its head. It's tail was black and thin, ending with a round blue ball which was smaller than Azurill's. Its face was just below its ears and small. But, it held Nessa's gaze without hesitation. Nessa thought it was a spunky little Pokémon.

"I'm not holding back," she warned Tuber Simon, "absorb!"

History repeated itself. Beautifly was swift and the water Pokémon couldn't handle the energy drain. It lasted only one attack too.

* * *

Nessa won. She felt a little guilty about it but Simon insisted that it was okay. His friends were a little more vocal in their opinion until he shut them up. He was quite a leader for a kid.

Nessa wondered if he was a little famous too. After her battle with him, none of the others would challenge her. She stood there for a few minutes as Mr. Sea called out again and again for challengers.

Finally, he declared her a winner and gave her a free box of Soda Pop. There were only six in a box, but it was still more than enough. Nessa had one, gave one to Beautifly and another to Torchic, one for Tuber Simon and she still had two left; for Helen and Finley.

When she left, it was already dark. She had spent a bit of time talking with Tuber Simon. Once again, she had fish and chips for dinner. It was beginning to become a bit of a habit and she missed home cooked meals.

Her mother was amused when she mentioned this, phoning home while she walked back to the Pokémon centre.

"Seems like this is the perfect opportunity to learn how to cook!" And her mother sounded way too happy about it. "I could email you a couple of recipes! And your brother mentioned that there are some places which offer kitchenettes."

Nessa already knew that. Pokémon centres also had cooking areas, but one had to hire; make a booking and pay for it, to use them. They were also one of the services which wasn't just limited to trainers.

However, there was another problem with her mother's plan.

"Do you even know how to email?" Her mother was not the best with computers. She was not completely illiterate but she didn't have the best relationship with technology. Once, she had panicked when a notification box popped up; compete with 'ding' sound effect, and ended up pulling the power cord out.

"I'll get your father to help me!" her mother was certainly determined.

Nessa sent a silent prayer her father's way.

"How's the tunnel reconstruction going?" she asked, changing the subject.

There was a sigh from the other end.

"It's high priority but, well, you know that machinery can't be used. So, it's human and Pokémon labour and that's it. They're out there with digging tools; shovels and pickaxes, but barely making a dent. If it wasn't for the help of the industrial trained Pokémon workforce and trainers offering their Pokémon skills, there wouldn't be any progress to speak of."

Nessa wilted a little at the lack of news. She had know that it wouldn't be a simple job but she thought that a few days would have brought a little progress. It seemed that she was wrong.

"I can't even imagine life without that tunnel connecting the two cities," she commented.

"Patience," was all her mother was willing to say. "I've had to get your sister to mail my orders from Rustboro, since I can't get to the stores. Your father had to leave for a work conference there. It takes place in a week, but he needed the extra time to travel there."

"How's he getting there?" Nessa questioned. If her father wasn't there, she wasn't going to getting those recipes emailed for a while.

"He's going to go around through Fallabor Town, up north, and then head south to Rustboro. Even then, he doesn't think he's going to make it in time."

"I might beat him home," Nessa said with a laugh. She heard her mother chuckle from the other end but there a touch of sadness present in her voice.

It was then she realised that her mother was home alone which hadn't happened in years.

"Be safe," her mother said, ending the call. Nessa hung up, feeling a little more down than before. There had to be something she could do to cheer her mother up.

* * *

She thought about it for ages. She had bought a few sheets of Harbor Mail so it was possible for her to send her mother a letter. It was just getting the letter to Verdanturf Town that was the problem.

She considered having Beautifly fly the letter to her mother's place. But, the Pokémon had never been to her place and could possibly get lost.

She could hire a delivery person to send the letter. The Pokémon mart may be open until late but, the delivery service closed at 5pm. Plus, packages could only be picked up at the Pokémon mart. She would have to tell her mother about the letter and that would ruin the surprise.

She wanted it to be a surprise.

* * *

Entering the Pokémon centre momentarily shocked her out of her thoughts as the lights blinded her for a moment. She blinked as she entered. Thankfully, most Pokémon centres had the same layout. She didn't really need to see where she was going.

Except, she tripped over Whismur; the little Pokémon still carrying her bag, and stumbled right into the front counter.

"Can we pretend that didn't happen?" she slurred to the attendant, gasping for air with pain radiating from where her chest hit the counter.

The attendant giggled for a second before schooling her features into a straight face.

"One room for the night?" she questioned.

Nessa nodded and filled out the appropriate paperwork. The attendant was handing her the key when she heard a gasp from behind.

"Nessa!" It was Helen.

"Hello," Nessa said, waving to her. Finley was sitting near the window, his Treeko digging around in the potted plants.

Helen guided her over to their table, while scolding her for running off earlier. Nessa frowned a little at Helen's rant. She hadn't meant to cause any trouble but, she was a trainer and perfectly capable of handling herself.

A vision of a cold, rocky and dark cave flashed through her mind and she shuddered. She could almost smell the dampness and dirt.

"You okay?" Finley asked when she coughed.

"Yeah," she responded. Then, perhaps in an attempt to distract both of them from her, she told them about her mother and how she wanted to send her something.

"Steve might be able to deliver it," Finley said, "we have been to Verdanturf Town before and he should remember where it was." He held out the Pokéball with the wingull inside. Nessa could see the Pokémon inside it, curled up and sleeping.

"And how would he find Nessa's house?" Helen questioned. She was obviously still mad that Nessa had gone off without them.

"Overhead map?" Nessa suggested, pointing at the computer. "Think Steve would be able to recognise the house from above?"

"Right, Pokémaps online," Finley mused, "good idea."

It wasn't until they borrowed the computer; and paid the extra fee for external network usage, that Nessa started to get excited. Finley released Steve from his Pokéball as they found the overhead shot of her house; and the houses around it. The Pokémon perched on the computer desk, eyes to the screen. It shuffled every few moments and gave an affirmative cry when Finley asked whether he was up to the journey.

Nessa wrote out a letter to her mother. She wrote about the people she had met and some of the events of her journey; she left out the storm and the panic attack in the cave. When she was done, she placed the mail in an envelope and handed it to Finley who held it up for Steve to take. The Pokémon swooped off the top of the Pokémon centre, grabbed the letter and flew off into the distance.

"You sure he'll be okay?" Nessa didn't want the Pokémon to get hurt or lost on a job for her.

"He'll be fine," Finley assured her.

"Believe it or not, this isn't the first mail run Steve's had to make," Helen added. She stood there, hands on hips as she watched the Pokémon vanish into the night; a white speck in the darkness. There weren't many stars visible in Slateport's night sky.

"Yeah," Finley said with a smile, "I remember someone else wanting to borrow him to fly a message home. Right after I caught him too. There was crying and begging-" he cut off as Helen punched him lightly in the arm.

Nessa smiled and the whirling feeling of homesickness in her stomach lightened for the moment.

* * *

**Author note:** 'external network usage', is an internet usage fee. Basically, trainers can store and retrieve Pokémon, store mail/items and check/send email, and the other things that can be done in the games for free. But if they need the computers for anything outside of those services, they need to pay a fee. I normally don't explain things in author's notes but there was no way to add it into the story without it being strange.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Nightmares and the Morning After

* * *

It was four in the morning. Darkness still cloaked the city with no sign of leaving. Streetlights were on but other than that the only light came from the windows and sign of the Pokémon centre.

Nessa walked in front of the centre before heading off down the street. She was huddled in a denim jacket and jeans but the slight trembling of her shoulders could still be seen. Even so, despite the slight seaside chill in the air, it was not the cold making her tremble.

She had woken up numerous times that night, her body painfully jolting awake. Her dreams turned to nightmarish blurs which filled her with a sense of panic. The parts she could remember, she recalled all too clearly.

Rocks tumbling down and crushing her Pokémon.

Being trapped and unable to breath in some unknown place with no one coming to help her no matter how much she screamed.

Finley falling from the sky and landing before her. Helen being washed out to see and disappearing under the waves.

Returning to Verdanturf town and finding it in ruins; this dream had repeated a few times. The town crushed by the same rocks which caved in the tunnel. The town overgrown and the people mysteriously gone. The town in perfect state but just abandoned with no one there to welcome her home.

The choking feeling returned to her throat and she shivered again. By the time four o'clock flashed on the bedside clock and she had once again flinched awake, her body aching from the sudden movement, she had enough of trying to sleep. The more she tried, the more tired she felt the next time she awoke.

Not wanting to stay in the dark room, she had left the Pokémon centre and gone for a very, very early morning walk. Whismur waddled beside her, still carrying her bag.

Nessa couldn't tell whether the Pokémon was unable to sleep, like her, or unwilling to leave her alone.

She found a park bench outside the Oceanic Museum and sat down on it, bringing her knees up to her chin and curling into a ball.

Why had the dreams suddenly gotten worse? She had at least one nightmare a night since the cave-in but she always had been able to get some sleep. Never had they been so frequent, fear-inducing and physically painful as they had that night.

She could see the sea from this bench and she gazed over it to the horizon, praying for the sun to rise. Her nightmares had always seemed so silly by morning but terrifying at night.

The ache in her head wasn't going away either.

* * *

She didn't stay on the bench for long. Her body may have been tired but her thoughts wouldn't stop racing and there was a kind of nervous energy flowing through her body that made her move. Walking through the sort of deserted streets, she thought about a lot of things. Most of the time, it was battle strategies. She had learnt a lot from her brother and sister about battling, Pokémon types and Pokémon moves.

She thought about Helen, Finley and whether she was going to continue her journey with them in tow. Her mind flashed to her visions of an empty Verdanturf town and thought that it might be more bearable with other people by her side. But, her intention had been to take this journey alone; with just her Pokémon.

She thought about her brother and wondered what he was up to. Last she had heard, he was in Mossdeep City. Nessa didn't really know where Mossdeep city was; she checked the map and saw that it was part of a really large island off the coast. Some time was spent wondering what Mossdeep city was like.

Sometimes, she would recall and visualise parts of her nightmares. They always made her cringe and take a few quick steps. She thought about anything and everything to keep her mind off them.

Slowly, the sun began to rise. She first spotted the rays of light over a few two story buildings. Seeing them made her feel better, hopeful, and she walked to the beach to watch the sunrise.

She was thankful to see that she wasn't the only one. There were quite a few people on the beach. Some were walking, some were battling and some were watching the sunrise as well.

Nessa glanced up when a flash of white caught her vision. A wingull glided across the sky and she followed its trail with her eyes.

"Steve, Supersonic!" Finley called out, punching the air with his fist.

He was awake and energetically battling and Nessa was surprised to see him. Her heart did a little jolt as Steve the Wingull dropped towards the beach and fired supersonic waves that rippled the air at the opposing Gulpin.

The opposing trainer, a young tuber girl, was not happy about this development.

"Gulpin, Pound!" she ordered fiercely. She jumped in surprise as her Pokémon ran into one of the many parasols set up on the beach. The parasol was toss from its spot on the sand and dropped to the ground, Gulpin sprawled out on top of it like a green beach ball with no air left.

"Wing attack!" Finley ordered, seizing the opportunity. Steve plummeted from the sky and buffeted the Gulpin with his wings, sending the other Pokémon bouncing across the sand.

Automatically, Nessa moved to intercept the flailing Pokémon before it travelled too far. She caught it in her arms and dropped it to the ground. It was a heavy Pokémon despite its size. And it was obviously knocked out.

The tuber girl returned the defeated Pokémon to its Pokéball. She was obviously holding back tears; her face blotching red and pools of water forming in her eyes.

Nessa internally cringed; she hated it when kids cried.

"Hey," Finley said in a soft voice, dropping to the girl's level. "That was a great battle. You should be careful when your Pokémon is confused, they do sometimes hurt themselves. Here." He pulled something out of his bag and passed it to the girl. Nessa craned her neck to see what it was; a sparkling sticker shaped just like the round green Gulpin. It was as big as her thumb and the girl accepted it with a sniffle.

"Just like in the market, I give you something and you pay me," Finley explained, holding his hand out expectantly.

By this time a few tears had leaked out the girl's eyes but she was smiling as she looked at the sticker. Nessa couldn't help smiling at the exchange and teasingly thinking that only Finley would take money from a crying kid. And only Finley could take money from a crying kid while making onlookers think 'aw, how cute.' Nessa wasn't thinking it though, she was above such things.

Finley shot a glare at her and she smiled back innocently. She hadn't thought it but she had said it. Out of the kid's earshot, of course.

"Helen's not with you?" were the first words out of Finley's mouth as he glanced around.

Nessa was slightly annoyed that his first thoughts were of the whereabouts of his sister but, she squashed that feeling.

"No," she responded. They had been together the previous morning, so he had reasons to assume they would be together this morning.

He gave her a strange look which was only interrupted by Steve landing atop his head.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Nessa asked.

"Finding people to battle," Finley responded with a smile, "you?"

"Watching the sunrise," she responded. His response didn't sound like the truth but she hadn't told the whole truth either. This was further proven by the awkward silence that followed.

Finley broke the silence first.

"You doing okay?" he asked. Her head shot up and he was quick to add, "I notice you had Whismur carrying your bag."

Nessa glanced down at her forgotten Pokémon, only to find that he had moved while they were talking. Her bag was sitting on the sand while Whismur was spread out across one of the white sunning chairs which, like the parasols, were placed around the beach for public use. His yellow-tipped, long pink ears hung over his eyes, shading them from the risen sun.

"I'm alright," she responded, her voice sounding distant to her ears, "a little stiff and sore but I guess that's normal." She didn't mention that she had problems getting dressed because she couldn't raise her arms above her head; they were too stiff and ached when she moved them higher than her chest.

He nodded but she didn't think he fully believed her. The wince he gave when he pulled his own bag onto his shoulders was enough to show that he was probably suffering the same.

"How about some breakfast?" he asked and she was suddenly reminded of Helen the previous morning.

"Let me guess, you know a place?" she said smugly, although she was grateful for the invitation. Her stomach grumbled.

"They do the best waffles!" he announced, launching into a story about how he found the place and the first time he had been there.

* * *

Finley had been right; they did make good waffles. Although, Nessa hadn't really had waffles with ice-cream and chocolate topping towered on top before.

Finley waited until she was partway finished before speaking.

"You sleep alright?" he asked simply. Nessa's hand paused, spoon almost touching her mouth.

The question could have been taken many different ways and she wondered if that was why he had asked it so plainly.

"I guess," she responded. It was partly the truth as the Pokémon centre had rather nice beds. They were soft and she had been able to spread out, much better than a bench or chair. "And did you sleep well?"

He paused as well and the awkwardness increased.

"I should have sleep like a log after yesterday," he said slowly, taking a sip of his coffee. "Maybe there was still some adrenaline in my system or something but, I didn't have a very good night."

Well, if he could admit it, "same here."

Another awkward moment of silence and Finley sighed.

"They say that talking helps."

"They?" Nessa questioned.

"Helen."

"Oh. You want to talk about it or something?" The hesitance in her voice was for herself as she didn't know whether she wanted to talk about nightmares. Besides, the sun was shining softly through the windows and her fears now seemed childish and embarrassing.

Finley took another sip of his coffee, swirling the liquid around in his cup.

"Times like this, I wish I had a psychic Pokémon or one that knew Dream Eater. I've heard that you can get a really good, dreamless night of sleep if you have your Pokémon use that move on you. And they get a good meal out of it as well."

Nessa nodded to show that she was listening and he continued;

"You know, I didn't want to be a Pokémon trainer. I didn't want to take the gym challenger, collect badges or any of that."

Nessa raised an eyebrow at this. Finley seemed a lot more subdued than normal, or maybe he was acting like himself and had been showing her a happy-go-lucky mask.

He saw her expression and was quick to backtrack and reassure her, "don't get me wrong, I love my Pokémon and battling is fun. I also like meeting new people." And subdued again. "But, I don't like being away from home."

"Didn't you just see them?" she questioned, remembering that they met when the two siblings were leaving after visiting their parents in Petalburg.

"Yeah, and then I had to leave again," he sounded annoyed, "because Helen's determined to complete the league challenge and she managed to trick me into coming." He flung his hands in the air and his voice once again held that overdramatic tone. "And since I already have two badges, she thinks I should get the rest!"

His words might have been serious but his tone and actions weren't. So, by the end of his rant, Nessa was suppressing a smile.

"So, how about you?" he asked, "how are you taking your journey? I'm guessing you miss your mum?"

Nessa glared at him but her now jolly mood kept her glare friendly.

Finley set his hands on the table and leaned forward, his face serious.

"Talking about it helps."

She couldn't help it, he was just ridiculous, and she laughed.

"Okay, you win," she gasped between giggles. She calmed down before continuing, "I've been having nightmares about when the tunnel collapsed and last night, they kept me from sleeping, that's all."

"Hmm," Finley comically stroked his chin as he thought. Then, he said, "well, I know one thing for sure. If you ever do end up in a tunnel collapse, that guy there will protect you." He pointed at Whismur, the little around bunny-like Pokémon currently napping atop Nessa's bag.

"He may look small, but Whismur can normally cry for wild cave Pokémon to help. I believe he'll call for help if you're in danger."

Nessa glanced down at her little Pokémon and found herself imagining him leading an army of little Whismurs like himself.

He'll call for help if you're in danger.

"Thanks, Finley," she said.

He held up his coffee mug in salute.

"How about a battle later, as thanks?"

* * *

** Author's note:** Expect a battle next chapter.

Also, I'd love to know what people think about my characters and the way they are written.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – For Keeps

* * *

Nessa stood just at the border of a grassy field outside Slateport. The wind blew softly and smelt of dirt and flowers, instead of ocean and brine.

Despite being outside of the city, the field was not deserted. Every now and then, someone would walk past. Most were trainers, looking for a place to hang out, battle and train. Some were residents of Slateport; although most also carried a few Pokémon on them.

The entrance to the Cycling Road could be seen up the path. The small passage had a sign board posted out the front which Nessa had already read. It just stated that due to an incident, the Cycling Road would be closed until further notice.

"It's still closed?" Finley whined, making Nessa jump. She hadn't even noticed him appearing behind her.

"Yeah," she responded, turning around. She removed her hand from where it had latched onto her Pokéballs, ready to release her Pokémon to defend her. "Where's Helen?" she asked and then winced. He had asked something similar earlier.

Thankfully, he didn't seem as bothered as she had been. "She's back at the Pokémon centre, signing us out."

"So, you're leaving?" she questioned. She had known that the siblings planned to leave today, the same way they knew she planned to stay. They had talked about getting food and supplies while she had talked about seeing a Pokémon contest and touring the museum.

"Yeah, we still have a gym battle to complete," he said, his voice distant.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," she told him. She pulled out Zigzagoon's Pokéball and held it out. "Or I'll win."

He smiled a cheeky smiled and pulled out a Pokéball.

"I think you'll be surprised," he commented, "don't underestimate me."

Great, he had a plan. Or at least, she thought he had a plan. She didn't think this was going to be easy, he had been a trainer longer than her. And he had, she quickly calculated in her head, two badges.

The area over her left chest began to feel a bit heavy as she realised that she also had two badges.

But, Finley and Helen had travelled around more than her.

Finally, she shrugged and took a few steps back. Maybe he had the experience to win.

She was going to make him fight for it though.

* * *

Nessa sent out Zigzagoon first. The Pokémon took one look at Finley and started chasing its tail.

"Steve!" Finley called to the sky. The wingull dropped from a nearby tree with a letter in its beak.

Finley took the letter and held it up. Even with the distance between them, Nessa could see her name written on the envelope in her mother's handwriting.

"Letter from home. You can have it if you win," he announced comically, placing the letter at his feet.

Nessa glared and her mouth twitched. She wasn't certain whether to smile or to frown. They both knew that she was going to get that letter, whether she won or not. But, it did provide a bit of incentive to crush him in battle.

Even Zigzagoon seemed to sense the change in mood, her head rising to look up at Finley. Her puffy brown ears flopped back and she shifted into a battle position.

"Headbutt!" Nessa ordered.

"Water Gun!" Finley said at the same time.

Steve, the wingull, gave a cry and parted his beak. Water shot forth and drenched Zigzagoon.

Zigzagoon shook herself dry and glared up at the seagull Pokémon. It would take more than that to break her down. She gave a cry, brought her upper-body low, pushed off with her hind legs and sprung up.

Her head impacted with the opposing Pokémon's underbelly, messing with his equilibrium. As she landed and jumped around in the grass, the other Pokémon struggled to regain his balance; or risk dropping to the ground.

"Wing Attack!" Finley ordered, Steve dropping from the sky to attack. It gave the opposing Pokémon the chance to regain its balance as it attacked.

"Tail whip!" Nessa ordered, she wanted to finish it with a single damaging attack. The best way to do that was the same strategy she employed against the first gym; weaken its defence and then take it down.

The two attacks clashed and Nessa flinched as Zigzagoon wobbled. Zigzagoon didn't go down. She ran across the grass in a zigzag pattern, following Steve in the sky.

"Supersonic!" Nessa prayed that attack wouldn't hit but it did. Zigzagoon became confused, the only physical sign of her status being her slowed pace through the field.

"Headbutt!" Nessa ordered, knowing that there was a chance that Zigzagoon might hurt herself. She needed to end this soon or switch her Pokémon out. She prayed silently that the attack would connect.

It did.

And Steve went down. Finley stared at her in shock, his mouth dropping open.

Nessa called Zigzagoon back as Finley released his next Pokémon; the Lombre named Jimmy. She considered which Pokémon to bring out but it was an simple decision.

Lombre was an evolved Pokémon and she only had one evolved Pokémon; Beautifly.

A little voice in her head reminded her that Lombre was grass type as well as a water type and that bug Pokémon were good against grass.

"Oh, I forgot about that one," Finley commented calmly. Nessa wondered if he was underestimating her.

"Gust!" she ordered, thinking that this was going to hurt. Beautifly held out his colourful wings, ready to attack, when;

"Fake Out!" Finley ordered.

She mumbled something unsavoury as Jimmy the Lombre attacked; bringing one large green arm up like he was going to hit it and hitting it with the other when it flinched.

And Beautifly lost his chance to attack.

"Gust!" she ordered again. Fake Out only worked once and only at the start of a battle, Beautifly wouldn't finch again.

"Nature Power!" It seemed like Finley was out to annoy her more than defeat her. For a moment she wondered who was making who fight for their win.

The winds of Beautifly's gust ripped at the Pokémon on the ground. The round lily pad on his head was buffeted back, pulling the head and body with it. Once the wind died down, the now angry green Pokémon counter-attacked. Yellow spores seemed to appear from nowhere, blowing up and across to Beautifly.

"Stun Spore," Nessa instantly identified the move. It was one of the ones she really didn't like.

"It missed?" Finley and Nessa said at the same time. Finley sounded annoyed and Nessa was relieved. Luck certainly seemed to be on her side.

Nessa didn't waste any time.

"Gust!" she ordered. One more attack should do it. And it did.

Jimmy collapsed onto his back, his eyes closed and left foot twitching.

Finley groaned as he called his Pokémon back. Nessa noticed that he only had one more Pokéball left on his belt.

* * *

He had told her that he had a Treeko. It was a Grovyle now.

She had expected a Grovyle.

Grovyle was not his final Pokémon.

"Kip?" she barked in surprise, seeing the blue Mud Fish Pokémon standing before Finley.

"Marsh!" Kip cried happily, waving his hands in the air. 'Let's get this battle going,' he seemed to be saying.

"Kip?" she questioned again, turning to Finley. He seemed enormously pleased with her reaction, a wide smile plastered to his face.

"Surprised?" he responded, "I took a little time to check in with Helen and, well, make a trade."

She glared at him. He had traded his Grovyle for Helen's Marshtomp, knowing that she would expect a Grovyle.

"Actually, we have been planning this for a while," he explained, "the next gym is an electric one and, well, you may have noticed that I specialise mostly in water types. Steve, being a wingull and water/flying, will be of no help at all. So, she's letting me borrow Kip for a while."

So there were advantages to travelling with others, Nessa realised. But, while surprising, this didn't change much.

"Beautifly, Absorb!" she ordered, knowing that the grass move would hit the opposing Pokémon hard.

And it did. Finley swore. And panicked.

"Mud-slap!" he ordered. Nessa wondered whether it was his state of mind or his unfamiliarity with the Pokémon that caused him to forget something important.

Flying types were immune to Ground type moves.

Beautifly just hovered there as the mud attack fell short.

"Really?" Nessa taunted, raising an eyebrow. Then she ordered the next attack, "Absorb!"

"Bide!"

"Absorb!" Nessa ordered. She prayed she would manage to take this Pokémon out before it unleashed its attack.

"Absorb, again!" One more turn.

"Absorb!" She realised it wasn't enough, Kip was still standing.

And the opposing Pokémon unleashed energy.

"Beautifly!" Nessa screeched as her Pokémon dropped from the sky. She had flinched with her Pokémon as the attack had hit and now she scrambled for the Pokéball.

She managed to return Beautifly to his ball before he hit the ground.

"Sorry!" Finley called out. He had backed up a few steps when the attack hit. She wondered if he knew just how hard Bide hit back.

"It's fine!" she called back, releasing Whismur.

The little pink Pokémon lowered his body and let its ears flop over his face.

"Uproar!" she ordered.

"Water Gun!"

Even though Whismur wanted to avenge Beautifly, the other Pokémon was fast. Kip got in first, drenching him in water.

Then, Whismur opened his mouth and cried out.

Nessa covered her ears, a move Finley copied.

"Water Gun!" Finley yelled.

Once again, Kip drenched Whismur.

And the crying stopped.

The larger blue Pokémon dropped to the ground.

Whismur defeated his opponent and Nessa won the battle.

"Bugger," was all Finley had to say.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Goodbyes and Contests

* * *

Finley paid up during the walk back to the Pokémon centre. He and Nessa shared battling tips. She was insulted when he was surprised at how much she knew. Just because she didn't become a trainer until recently, didn't mean she was ignorant.

"She won?" Helen gasped in surprise as soon as they entered.

"I messed up," Finley said. Nessa agreed with that; he had made numerous mistakes during that battle.

She froze as she realised something. Could he have let her win?

She asked Helen that while Finley got their Pokémon healed up and she laughed.

"No, no," she responded, "Finley works type advantages when he needs to but he relies more on levels. I guess he underestimated how much you and your Pokémon have grown over the past few days."

Nessa nodded in agreement, looking over at Finley's back. It was weird to think that she had only started her journey less than a week ago. It felt like she had been doing this all her life.

"Are you guys really going?" she asked with a sad sigh.

"Are you really staying?" Helen asked, sounding a bit too much like her brother.

It was the first time either of them had voiced their plans, even if it was in a roundabout kind of way.

The previous evening, Helen and Finley had talked about their travelling plans; the sights to see between here and Mauville City, the Pokémon they could find, the time it would take and what they would need.

On the other hand, Nessa spoke about sights in the city; things she wanted to see and do.

Without it being said, it seemed that both parties realised they would be parting ways the next day.

"Well, take good care of Torchic," Helen told her, "he's a good friend to Kip and Grovyle."

"Alright," Nessa responded with a smile. "But he's Combusken now."

Helen's jaw dropped.

"That was fast," she commented, but she had trained the little chick Pokémon a few times and it was a traded Pokémon.

"Yeah, I noticed that it has your trainer ID attached too," Nessa said, "I'm wondering if it's the same for Marshtomp and Grovyle."

Helen smiled a secretive smile and barked a laugh.

"That's right, I hatched them all," she responded, "and I got to keep them. Of course, there were conditions. I'm not allowed to train more than one at a time and the other two needed to go to other trainers. So, Finley gets Kip and you can have Tor, uh, Combusken."

Nessa had been expecting Helen to ask for the Pokémon back as people didn't just give away Pokémon. But, it was only when Helen said she could keep Combusken that Nessa realised she wanted to keep the yellow and orange Pokémon.

"A symbol of meeting," she thought aloud, smiling softly.

"Huh?"

"Something my brother told me," she said, "a symbol of meeting can be a Pokémon, item or event that links people together. Like how couples have a song or place."

She spotted the sceptical twitch of Helen's mouth and the flash in her eyes as she tried to process her words. Yep, Helen probably thought she was strange.

"So, does your brother have any such symbols?" she asked.

"Last time I checked, he has six badges," she said, and then explained, "badges are a symbol of meeting, of meeting a gym leader and defeating them in battle. And he has a Masquerain. It was given to him by a girl back when it was a Surskit, he never told me why."

When she finished talking, Helen was silent. The atmosphere had taken on a strange feeling, an uncomfortable one, as they both reflected on how their imminent parting.

"What are you guys talking about?" Finely asked as he walked back over with coffees in both hands.

"Stuff," Helen responded, jumping up to grab her drink.

He raised a sceptical eyebrow but chose to drop it.

"Well, whatever," he said. He sat down and passed Nessa the three Pokéballs containing her Pokémon. "Pass me your Pokégear," he ordered, holding out his hand.

Nessa pulled out the phone-like device from a pocket in her bag and passed it to him. She watched curiously as he keyed in some information, frustratingly keeping her from seeing the screen.

"What are you doing?" Helen questioned, also unable to see.

Finley chuckled as he finished and passed the Pokégear back to Nessa.

"I added my number," he said, "so now I can call you whenever I want!"

Helen and Nessa shared a look and Helen spoke;

"You gave her your number," she pointed out, "so it's up to Nessa to call you."

Finley smiled and pulled a blue Pokégear out from under the table and waved it at them.

"I also added her to mine," he explained smugly.

"I regret buying you that thing," Helen groaned.

Nessa watched the two siblings bicker back and forth sadly. Even though it was her decision to stay here, she still felt a pang of pain when she thought about them leaving.

It was foolish because chances were that they would end up meeting in Mauville City.

"What do you think, Nessa?" Finley asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"About what?" She blushed in embarrassment, feeling like a school kid caught dozing in class.

"Which is better; Acro bike or Mach bike?" Helen asked, "I say the Acro bike because it's better for tricks like wheelies and bunny hops!"

"But the Mach bike goes faster! That's got to be better when you're travelling!" Finley pointed out.

"Mach bike," Nessa responded, "I can't do a bunny hop. Or a wheelie for that matter."

Helen looked at her like she was crazy but Finley just laughed.

"See!" he said, pointing a finger at Helen. "Mach bike!"

Nessa also laughed.

They spent almost an hour talking about random topics.

* * *

And so, the self-imposed time of Helen and Finley's departure arrived. Nessa walked with them to the exit of the city and waved goodbye as they walked down the path.

Once they were gone, she stood there for a while. There was a kind of fresh feeling to being alone and able to go wherever she wanted. Whismur was still with her, helping her carry her bag when her stiff arms began to cramp, so she wasn't completely alone.

The contest hall for Slateport was near the city entrance. It was a large red building which stood out among the lighter, cooler colours of the buildings around it. The roof was blue and triangular flags which fluttered in the breeze hung from it.

It was very different to the building in Verdanturf town, which was a large round building build to resemble a large tent.

The automatic doors opened with a blast of cold air to admit her and she looked around the lobby. It was mostly quiet, although she could hear the cheers of the crowds in the next room.

"I guess they've already started," she commented, looking down at Whismur.

Whismur nodded in agreement and began to waddle around the lobby, scoping out the area.

"Are you interested in entering?" the woman at the counter called to her.

Nessa shook her head in response. She didn't have a contest pass, nor was she interested in acquiring one.

What she did like about contests was the images on the walls. Portraits of Pokémon who won in their contest were hung in the lobby. They hung there until the next contest, after which they could be given to the trainer or purchased by anyone who wanted it.

Nessa had one hanging on her wall at home of her sister's Illumise from when it won the local Smart Contest.

"Hi!" a voice squeaked from below her, causing her to jump back. Whismur was standing before her in an instant, ready to fight the strange assailant.

A little girl crawled out from under the nearby seats. She didn't seem fazed at all by Whismur's stance and she moved to sit on the chair, looking up at Nessa.

Her hair was a light brown and tied up in two pigtails. She had blue eyes and her sundress and shoes were a bright yellow.

"I'm Cammi, nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully.

"Uh, hi?" Nessa responded, more than a little confused. She looked around, trying to see if she could locate the kid's parents.

"Want to make Pokéblock?" Cammi asked.

"What?"

"Here!" Cammi said, pulling out a Pokéblock Case and holding it out. "Take it!"

Nessa glanced down at Whismur, who had his head tilted in a confused expression. He looked up at her as if she had the answers.

"Are you sure I can take it?" she asked. Nessa did already have one, but she had left it at home. Not that she really needed it but Pokéblock were fun to make.

"Grandpa gives them to me to give to others!" Cammi announced, "that way everyone can make Pokéblock!"

"Grandpa?" Nessa questioned. She glanced over at the Pokéblock blenders. They were custom-made tables with four seats. The tables were square, one-side to a person, and there was a button at each side.

Sitting at one of the tables was an older man. He had no hair left atop his head and silver-framed wire glasses sat on his face.

Turning back to Cammi, Nessa asked, "do you want to make Pokéblock?"

The girl's mouth twisted into a confused frown. Nessa gently took the girl's hand and pulled her over to the tables in the back corner.

She guided the girl into one of the spots and sat in another.

"Here," she passed the girl a berry, not really looking at which berry she gave her.

"You know how to do this?" the old man asked her.

"Yep," she responded with a smile. She picked up Whismur and deposited the Pokémon on her lap, so he could see.

* * *

Making Pokéblock is a simple thing. You find at least one other person to work with and one of the custom blender tables; which can be found at any contest hall.

Each person drops a berry into the blender via the lid in the middle. Once the lid is placed on, it starts moving around. Then, it's up to the people sitting at the table to press their buttons when the blender points at their button. Hitting the button at the right time, makes the blender go faster and hitting the button at the wrong time, makes the blender go slower.

* * *

Needless to say, Nessa had the timing down almost perfectly. She rarely missed and she could get more than two good hits in a single spin.

She could almost hear her sister in the background; telling her when to hit the button, berating her mistakes and congratulating her on good moves.

The old man had a bit of trouble when it started to go really fast and Cammi was obviously still learning. Not that Nessa minded. The first time she had tried this; she had panicked and got all misses. And they had fun. Whismur even played a round, pressing the button from his place on Nessa's lap.

They played until people started swarming out of the contest hall. Nessa took her chance and thanked the man and Cammi for playing with her and vanished into the crowd.

* * *

**Author's note: **I always forget what I plan to type here...


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Places to go, People to meet

* * *

While in Slateport, Nessa bought a new hat. It was white and wide-brimmed. She had noticed that her skin was getting tan and she could almost feel her skin burning. Nessa also bought a new shirt and pair of shorts. She had almost worked her way through all the clothes she had packed.

It took her almost half-an-hour to find a Laundromat within walking distance of the Pokémon centre. While her clothes were being washed and later dried, she joined the trainers who were milling around outside. They were gambling on battles as well as battling, trying to make the money to put into the machines. Betting on the battles, Nessa managed to win enough that the cost of using the machines was void. She took part in one battle and won and fled inside when a much stronger trainer; she had overheard that he had five badges, stepped up to challenge her next.

That night, she checked her journal again. There didn't appear to be much between Slateport and Mauville. There was something called the 'Trick House' which was run by an eccentric older man who was constantly renovating his house into mazes and puzzles for trainers to solve. After reading about the puzzle that had trainers sliding across the floor and running into things, she decided that she wouldn't stop there.

Which left no sights for her to see. There was nothing but Pokémon, grass, water and trainers. She found herself cursing Cycling Road, which was still closed. In fact, no one seemed to know when it would reopen.

She really should have asked for that bike for Christmas, but there had been a really cool Pokémon book that she had wanted. And a music player; which had been broken in the cave in, and a few video games. There had been a long list with no room for a bike to be added.

Whismur chose one of these moments to jump onto the desk and distract her, reminding her that it was late and she needed to sleep.

She fell asleep quickly, only to awake at three in the morning. Her dreams consisted of rocks sliding towards her and her unstable feet sending her straight into the ground, helpless. She sat up in bed for a few minutes, breathing heavily. Her sheets felt too tight and damp from sweat.

Climbing out of the covers, Nessa curled up at the other end of the bed, shivering a little in the exposed air.

_ Whismur will protect you._ Almost unconsciously, she reached down to her bag and released her Pokémon. Whismur jumped up on the bed immediately, standing protectively by her head. His ears flopped against her hair as he made himself comfortable. Zigzagoon was next, nudging herself under Nessa's arm and curling up against her body. Combusken stretched out against her back, amazingly warm for a Pokémon who mostly didn't like contact. Beautifly had a more difficult time getting up onto the bed. He didn't dare use his wings for fear of blowing someone else off the bed so, he was left climbing up with his little, wriggly arms and feet. Finally, he was able to climb onto Nessa, blanketing her with his wings.

She didn't wake up again that night.

* * *

Getting to Mauville city was slow. On foot, the path was long and covered in tall grass. The path twisted and turned. Nessa could see how Cycling Road could be faster, as it went straight and was situated above the path and surrounding water.

When Nessa left Slateport, the sun was just rising. When she arrived in Mauville, the sun had long since set.

The watch she picked up in Slateport told her that it was eleven at night when she stepped from the grassy trail onto the hard, stone paths of the city. Her first Pokémon walked by her side.

Whismur had evolved during the trek. The little pink Pokémon had grown into a large, almost as tall as Nessa, blue creature. His ears had turned into two little targets sticking out from his head and his mouth had grown wide. His hands and feet had developed and he stomped proudly next to Nessa. Right after evolving, he had examined himself quickly and then held out his hands. It took Nessa a while to understand that he was offering to carry her bag for her.

Mauville city was smaller than Slateport, however, the lights in windows shone brightly. The sky hung like a dark blanket over the city, contrasting the flickering lights from houses and apartments. The buildings were shorter here, most only one or two stories, and the city was spread out. Somehow, it felt more like a country town than the city it claimed to be.

Nessa stood in front of the Pokémon centre, wondering whether she should enter. Helen and Finley were most certainly inside and; while she missed them, Nessa still wanted to experience travelling alone. Just for a little while longer.

"Maybe I could indulge in a hotel, just this once," she mused.

"Oh, Darling, you don't have the best luck, do you?" It was Jane, the old woman who had also travelled on Mr. Briney's ferry. Nessa sometimes had trouble understanding the woman and this time was no exception.

"Pardon?"

"There's no room in the Pokémon centre, hasn't been for a few days now."

Nessa glanced through the doors again, although they were tinted a light blue that made it impossible to see through.

"Since Mauville is close to Verdanturf, many trainers are staying here during the reconstruction efforts. They spend their nights here, near the casino," her tone of voice seemed very disapproving of this point, "and then fly out in the morning."

Nessa felt her shoulders slump. Up until this point, she really hadn't thought about how close she was to Verdanturf town. But, it would take another day to walk there. She took a moment to curse trainers using their Pokémon for easy travel, even though she knew it wasn't true or fair.

"I guess it's another night sleeping on chairs," she sighed. She had just gotten used to beds again.

She noticed the smile on Jane's face and shot her a confused look.

"I might know a place you can spend the night," she announced, "I have some friends who live in Route 111, just north of here. Perhaps, we could spend the night there?"

Nessa suppressed her first urge to tell Jane that she didn't really want her help. It had been a long and dull day filled with nothing but trees, water, grass and walking. Nessa's arms were sore and her legs had never stopped aching.

If she was a trainer, then she should accept help where she could find it.

"Alright," she said, smiling. Her smile was tinted with exhaustion.

* * *

Nessa felt her jaw drop. She was standing before a huge, four floor, two wing manor. There was no fence around it but, the grass turned from dull and clumpy to green and perfect; making a good indicator of to where the owner's property started.

The owner's family name stood out in bold, metal letters above the door: Winstrate.

She was standing in front of the Winstrate House!

Now, wide awake, Nessa was glad she had accepted Jane's offer. The Winstrate family were famous trainers, each family member a Pokémon trainer. They had started small, just challenging anyone who travelled their way. As news about them spread; and their 'won't let you leave until we win' approach, there were a few segments about them on the radio. Then, a spot on the local news. And, just the previous year, they had featured in their own reality TV show. Nessa had watched every episode.

"I hope you're not thinking of challenging them," Jane teased with a smile.

Nessa shook her head. It was far too late for battles and she was so tired, she would lose anyway.

"Did someone say 'challenge'?" A teenager with long light black hair opened the door. She was Vivi, the youngest daughter of the family in residence and the second strongest. Her eyes lit up as she recognised one of the people on her doorstep. "Jane! Are you here to see grandma?"

"Maybe. Maybe I'm just looking to put a roof over my head for one night," Jane responded with a laugh. Jane and Vivi chatted for a moment, leaving Nessa feeling left out, before Jane introduced her, "this is Nessa. She's a tough one, only been a trainer for a week and has two badges."

Vivi looks at her with respect in her eyes. Nessa almost feels like a fake. Yes, she had only been a trainer for a week or so. Yes, she had two badges. But, it's not like she was aiming for that. She had gone with the flow.

"Are you aiming for badge number three?" Vivi asked while letting them in.

"I guess," Nessa responded. She had thought about it. The third badge would allow her to use Rock Smash and she would be able to help with the tunnel reconstruction.

If she could bring herself to enter the tunnel again. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy, especially considering her reaction in Granite Cave. She was still hoping that it was just a onetime thing.

"Some friends of mine would be disappointed if I didn't at least try," she said as she recalled Finley and Helen. The letter Finley had given her from her mum had also mentioned the Mauville badge. Her mother had written that it would be good for her to at least try for it and if it kept her away for a few more days, so be it.

"I don't have any of the badges," Vivi admitted, "but my brother travelled around and collected them all."

"Same here," Nessa said, "although, I think he's still one or two short."

Vivi laughed. Nessa got a tour and spent the night in one of the guest rooms.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 –Following Rules or Not

* * *

Loudred dropped to the ground. He was out before he even hit the dirt, unable to hear Nessa's cries.

Nessa's head spun. Loudred had been her last able Pokémon. Zigzagoon, now Linoone, had been the first to fall. Beautifly had been next, but not before taking out at least one of the opponent's Pokémon. Combusken had fallen, even after giving his all.

How? He shouldn't have been this strong! She had told him that she only had two badges!

His friends laughed from behind him, even as she felt the world spin under her feet. She gripped the handlebars of her new bike and returned Loudred to his Pokéball.

The wall of trainers before her stopped her from moving forward, from getting help. She just had to hope that her Pokémon would be okay.

* * *

Nessa didn't remember the trip back to Mauville. All she knew was that she didn't have the energy to ride. She had to walk; concentrating only on putting one foot in front of the other.

* * *

It was night, once again, when she reached the Pokémon centre in Mauville. She remembered how the glare of the lights attached to the casino made her dizzy when she passed. She remembered dropping into one of the waiting area seats. It took her an hour to remember that it could be dangerous to sleep there without her Pokémon and to get up and call Vivi to help her.

Truthfully, she had been after Jane but Vivi had answered and she didn't have the energy to relay the story more than once.

* * *

She fell asleep among the blankets Vivi had brought, the other girl by her side as she dozed off.

* * *

That morning had been one unlike any other. But, unlike how it ended, it was a good morning.

Nessa awoke in warmth. Sometime during the night, she had released her Pokémon again and they had curled up around her. She spent her 'five-more-minutes' snuggling in the soft sheets and just enjoying the comfortable warmth.

When she woke up, she found that Vivi had been waiting for her with breakfast. They talked some more while Nessa ate. Since they both had brothers travelling on their own Pokémon journeys, they had a common ground to talk about. Or complain about, whichever.

Vivi had accompanied Nessa back to Mauville City and helped her choose a new bike. Nessa had been after fast and cheap, finally settling on a blue Mach bike. It would take a bit of energy to get moving but, once moving, wouldn't take much energy to sustain high speeds.

High speed was something Nessa really needed at the time. With Verdanturf Town so close, she decided to just drop everything and go there. After all, since Verdanturf Town and Mauville City were so close together, she could always come back to challenge the Gym Leader. Right now, it felt more important for her to get home and show her mother that she was safe.

Knowing what she knows now, she realised she should have stayed in Mauville. She wouldn't have ignored the news filtering through that; with the helpful trainers flocking there, there were some not-so-nice trainers attracted by all activity.

* * *

Route 117 was actually a very nice route. While there were the wide open spaces of the previous routes, there also were many places of activity. Which meant that there were many people to meet and lots to see.

Not long out of Mauville, Nessa passed the Pokémon Daycare Centre. The building itself was small but, there was a large amount of land fenced off for the Pokémon. Standing at the only gate in the fence was an old man. Nessa had a chat with him for a while and chatted with some of the other trainers hanging around.

After a while, she continued on her way. Every now and again, a triathlete would come running or riding by. Instead of a bike, they rode Doduo; the Pokémon of choice for triathletes. When Nessa stopped for lunch; a sandwich and some sweets, she checked her journal for information on this route.

Surprisingly, there was quite a bit. Route 117 possessed lakes, trees, fields of grass as well as paths and gardens that it made a perfect place for training and raising Pokémon. Many Pokémon breeders lived around the area and a few even built houses a little off the main path.

After lunch, Nessa returned to travelling. It was late in the afternoon and the sky had turned pink and purple from the sunset when she spotted them.

She knew that outside of Verdanturf there were fenced off flower fields. The fields were awash with colour and had been one of her favourite places to visit as a child.

Somehow, it had never occurred to her that, with the right amount of people, the fences could be used to create a roadblock.

It only took five trainers, three on motorbikes, to block the path. With a sinking heart, Nessa realised that there was no way around them. It wasn't possible to go around the flower fields, they were very big and there was only forest beyond them. The forest around Verdanturf was considered impassable, mostly due to the Volbeat and Illumise that dazzled travellers and led them astray.

She could have gone back to Mauville. In retrospect, she should have gone back to Mauville. But, for someone who was often described as a 'quiet girl' she had a lot of guts and a huge stubborn streak.

Being so close and having to turn back because she was scared of a couple of hoodlums was foolish, or so she told herself.

So, she continued down the path. She rang the bike bell, signalling for the guys to get out of the way.

The growling feeling in her gut, the one that told her that this was not going to end well, increased.

"Excuse me," she said, stopping the bike before the guy in the middle.

He glared at her and a shiver went down her spine.

"Look what we have here, a little trainer!" Her face went red, she wasn't little! "Don't you know, little trainer? Verdanturf town is a disaster zone. The tunnel collapsed, don't you know?"

"I know," she responded, feeling slightly detached from her body as she recalled her time in the tunnel. The air around her felt musty. "I was in the tunnel at the time. Got stuck in Rustboro City and am trying to get back to Verdanturf."

"Sorry?" he responded, "didn't quite hear that."

She frowned. The only good thing about this guy was that he made her angry enough that she couldn't dwell on her flashbacks.

"Just let me through, so I can get home."

"No," he responded, "unless, you can beat me in a Pokémon battle? If you can beat me, then I'll bet you'll be allowed to help."

"I don't want to help!" she practically yelled, "I want to get home!" Home. Somehow, with this guy standing before her, it felt further away than ever.

He had four badges, each of them proudly attached to his shirt and glowing in the dwindling light.

Nessa, with only two badges, would never be able to defeat him. The smart thing to do would have been to turn around and go back to Mauville.

The smart thing to do wasn't really an option at that point. Nessa was frustrated. She knew that this wasn't right or fair.

She wanted to try and stop it. Not that she was completely stupid, she did explain that she only had two badges and wasn't a challenge at all. But, the lead jerk; as she thought of him, wasn't really listening.

She ground her teeth in irritation, whispered quiet apologies to her Pokémon and engaged in battle.

She fought well, as well as could be expected. The jerk wasn't even a good trainer, relying only on his higher-level Pokémon to win. She managed to take out two of them; relying on type advantages and luck. But, he had six Pokémon. Six higher level Pokémon.

Nessa only had four.

As the hits felled her first three Pokémon, there was a painful stab in her chest. She hated to see her Pokémon lose, especially to someone like this.

But, with Loudred, she felt a ghost of each hit. She flinched as, after the first attack, the heath of her first and most protective Pokémon went into the red.

She could almost hear the alarm bells in her head, telling her that it was all over.

And then, it was.

* * *

She didn't awake until just before lunch. Her whole body ached. She couldn't tell if she had actually strained something or if it was some kind of physical response to yesterday's emotional pain. Vivi was right by her side, typing away on a blue laptop.

"You finally awake?" she asked as Nessa sat up.

She was in a room she had never seen before. It smelled like antiseptic and was very clean. The walls were painted cream and the bed sheets were white.

The bed itself was wire; cold and hard.

There was only the bed and an office desk in the room.

"Where am I?" she questioned, wincing at the hoarseness of her voice.

"Pokémon centre," Vivi responded, closing the lid of the laptop and beginning to put it away. "One of the rooms for trainers injured in the field. Thankfully, Jane pulled a few strings to get you in here. Do you remember what happened?"

Nessa swallowed and tears flowed out of her eyes before she could stop them. She tried not to break down and just cried silently, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue from the desk.

Her voice trembled as she recounted what had happened. She took a sadistic pleasure in the furious expression on Vivi's face as she spoke about the jerk.

"That's, there's rules about that," Vivi hissed, "you're not supposed to challenge people with less badges than you, they have to initiate the battle and only after you make the number of badges you have clear. You can't force someone to battle you."

"They're unspoken and unforced rules," Nessa responded, taking a few deep breaths. She felt a bit better after crying, like a weight had been lifted from her chest. Now, her mind was turning over the previous day. She picked apart her actions, the actions of the jerks and the battle, finding all the faults she could and plotting ways it could have gone differently. She also thought about all the people she knew and plotted the best way to get back at the jerks.

The latter would probably never happen, not unless Vivi took initiative, but was nice to think about.

"Are my Pokémon okay?" Nessa asked, noticing that they were around.

Vivi nodded and explained that they had been left with the nurses overnight and until she was feeling better.

"I'm feeling better now," Nessa said. She wanted to see her Pokémon again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – This is War

* * *

Nessa was nervous as she walked out of the Pokémon centre with her Pokéballs in hand. Vivi walked alongside her. If she was surprised that Nessa walked out towards Route 118, she didn't voice it. Nessa stood in the short grass, just off the path in order to release her Pokémon.

Loudred had his mouth shut tightly and hands curled into fists.

Linoone sunk into the ground, for once, lacking energy.

Combusken stared at the ground, scratching one foot into the dirt.

Beautifly was sitting on the ground, looking up at Nessa with determined eyes. It was obvious that he wanted to beat down the jerk trainer.

Looking at her, mostly, crestfallen and disappointed Pokémon; Nessa realised that she didn't have time to pout or feel terrible herself. These were her Pokémon and they expected her to do something.

She could feel her expression twist from sadness to grim determination. Oh, she was going to get back at the jerk, even if he didn't know it. She wasn't going to stop here.

"Rest time is over. We still have a gym battle to win," she announced, placing her hands on her hips. "So, we're going to spend the rest of today training!" She made a silent vow to herself that this wasn't going to happen again. She wasn't going to send her Pokémon into battles they couldn't win, screw the unspoken rules. But that didn't mean she was going to go easy on them either.

She quickly came up with the training plan. They would start by searching and battling any trainers and Pokémon they could find on Route 118.

"Vivi, think you could help?" she asked, turning back to the other girl. Vivi had been sitting on a nearby ledge, watching and waiting. Her dark hair seemed almost shimmering in the light, like oil, and her outfit consisted of a simple blue shirt and jeans.

"Totally," she said, holding up three Pokéballs. "I brought my newest team. They should be around the same levels as yours and, if they aren't, I can borrow some other Pokémon from my family." The Pokémon centre was only half-an-hour ride away so transfers of Pokémon and healing wouldn't be difficult if they stuck to Route 118.

"Perfect!" Nessa responded, clapping her hands together. Later, she would allow herself to wonder if Vivi had been waiting for this but, for now, she really needed to think about training.

* * *

The quickest way to train Pokémon was to put them in battles against other trained Pokémon. That was the first tip of training Nessa ever read. She didn't remember where she heard it or from what book she got it from but she remembered the words.

The second tip of training was to know as much as possible about her opponents. She picked it up from her brother. He had been repeating something a Pokémon breeder had told him. He didn't seem to understand how he could know everything about other trainers when battling them was meeting them for the first time. But then, her brother travelled. Nessa hadn't. She had spent most of her life in Verdanturf Town. There she watched contests and trainers pass through.

It took her a few years to realise how to apply tip two. While she couldn't know everything about every trainer, there were trainers who had reputations. If you asked, you could find out almost everything about Gym Leaders. Which Pokémon they used and what levels they were, what moves they knew and how they battled. You could even find out what Pokémon to use against them, what Pokémon not to use and what moves would be best.

It was during a planning session with one of her hometown friends who was about to attempt the Gym Challenge that Nessa realised that she was able to guess most of it. It was based of Pokémon types, the moves a Pokémon could know and lots of other details that made up Pokémon battling. The kinds of things that trainers really thought about during a battle. She knew the stats of most of the Hoenn Pokémon, even Pokémon she had never seen in person. She could apply that knowledge into predicting the other trainer's moves and the chance of winning.

She intended to know the Gym Leader of Mauville City. She talked with Vivi, with trainers in the Pokémon centre when they were healing their Pokémon and she did an internet search that night.

The Gym Leader was called Wattson. He used electric-type Pokémon. He was considered to be a jolly man and was the founder of Mauville.

Trainers who battled him for their third badge would face three Pokémon; a Magnemite, a Voltorb and a Magneton. They were level 22, 20 and 23. Magnemite and Magneton were also steel-types. Fire was a good bet with them. Otherwise, the advice was to stick with rock-type Pokémon and moves. Never use flying or water.

Blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, she could do this.

* * *

The next afternoon saw Nessa standing before the large, light blue, automatic doors to the gym. She had spent the morning defeating all the trainers who worked in the gym and was ready to battle the Gym Leader.

She already knew that Beautifly would not be able to help her during this battle. The Pokémon was resting on her head, overseeing everything and giving her courage. Plus, if it looked like she was going to use a flying-type Pokémon then maybe she would be underestimated.

Beautifly tapped her head, urging her into the building. They were here for a battle and he didn't want to wait.

Nessa flinched at the first hit of cool air on her face. The gym was set up similar to a laboratory. The floor was cool and hard, covered in cream coloured tiles. The walls were a pastel blue. And there were tall towers rising out of the floor.

Electricity could be seen dancing between the towers.

"You ready, girl?" one of the gym trainers questioned as she walked past, stepping on the switch at his feet.

"We'll see," she responded. She didn't want to make any promises right now. She planned to win but, so did the other guy. Overconfidence could ruin everything.

"Go for it!" the last gym trainer called out as she walked past. She gave him a small smile, grateful that trainers here were nice.

She spotted the Gym Leader sitting hunched at a metallic table.

"I've given up on my plans to convert the city, I have. And so, I put my time into making door traps in my gym," he mumbled, scribbling on the blueprints in front of him.

"Um, hello?" Nessa greeted nervously. Gym Leader Wattson seemed more scary than jolly, especially when he grabbed his plans and moved them out of her sight.

"Oh? Now, what are you doing here?" Nessa pointed at Beautifly on her head, hopefully indicating that she was there for a battle. "You got past all my rigged doors?" She nodded. There was an awkward silence as he stood up and visually examined her.

Finally, he laughed. It was a deep rumbling laugh and Nessa found herself jumping a little at the sound.

"Now, that is amusing!" he commented, pulling out a Pokéball. "Then I shall electrify you!"

Nessa smiled and released her first Pokémon; Combusken. Her strategies relied heavily on the fire-fighting bird-like Pokémon and she had trained him with that mindset.

"Ember!" she ordered, even as Wattson released his first Pokémon.

"Supersonic!" he said quickly, thrown off by her quick move.

Wattson used the round, magnet Pokémon; Magnemite first. It was a pattern Nessa noticed when she asked previous challengers about their battle. Not that she really needed to know. While ember would take out the two part-steel-types, it was also able to make a dent in Voltorb as well.

Although, Magnemite seemed mostly unfazed by the attack. It moved first, the supersonic attack missing, and then shook off the flames that Combusken shot at it.

"Double-kick!" Nessa ordered, changing tactics.

"Sonicboom!"

Once again, Magnemite's attack hit first. Combusken let out a cry as he moved through the attack and lashed out twice with his orange feathered legs and claws.

This time, Magnemite floated aimlessly for a moment before dropping to the ground, its eye closed.

Nessa called Combusken back. Combusken was needed for the final round against Magneton. She waited until Wattson released Voltorb before letting Loudred take the field.

"Pound!" she called, as she released the blue, big voice Pokémon.

"Self-destruct!" Wattson ordered in a hurry.

"Self-destruct?" she questioned in shock.

Voltorb closed its eyes and began to glow. Then, it blew up in an explosion of gas and red and yellow flashes.

Nessa flinched as Loudred's form was hidden in the rushing smoke. Her heart hammered in her chest. And she found herself calling for her Pokémon and silently praying he was okay.

When the smoke cleared, Voltorb was out. Loudred was slouched before Nessa, injured but okay.

"Thank goodness," she said, dropping to her knees to check that Loudred was, indeed, okay. Her hands hovered above her Pokémon for a moment before gathering his Pokéball and returning him to safety.

She grabbed Combusken's Pokéball and released him back onto the field.

"You're doing well," Wattson commented with a smile and a laugh. His sentiment was honest and Nessa found herself relaxing a little. "Can you keep it up?"

He released his final Pokémon, Magneton.

* * *

While Nessa seemed uncertain and wary outside of battle, during battles those emotions seemed to vanish. During battle, she stood tall and gave orders unwaveringly.

"Double Kick!" she ordered, crossing her arms across her chest. She was a tower of strength to her Pokémon.

"Sonicboom!" Wattson ordered with a huge smile on his face. Both trainers were enjoying this.

Magneton's body resembled three Magnemite stuck together and, therefore, possessed three eyes. All three eyes moved to focus on Combusken right before attacking. The Sonicboom hit Combusken in the chest, almost sending the Pokémon flying back. Combusken's claws screeched across the ground as he held his position.

Combusken lashed out. Two hits to Magneton's centre and bouncing back, ready to attack again.

"Supersonic!" Wattson ordered.

"Double Kick!" Nessa said, knowing that if this attack hit; she could win.

Combusken charged through the Supersonic and landed another two hits on Magneton, sending the metallic levitating Pokémon crashing to the ground.

For a moment, everything was silent. Then Combusken dropped his stance and stood tall as the victor.

"Yes!" Nessa cheered to herself. Three badges, she could hardly believe it.

Her jaw dropped in disbelief as Wattson started laughing.

"You ended up giving me a thrill! Fine, I lost!"

She smiled nervously as he walked over. He was a rather large man up close and she was glad that Combusken had moved to her side. The Pokémon watched as she received the badge and shook Wattson's hand.

"Way to go!" Nessa started as she heard Vivi call out from behind the rigged door. She hadn't realised that she was there.

"Uh, thanks," she said, walking over. She was careful to not touch the current.

"Whahaha, just give me a moment and I'll have those open for you in a jiffy!" Wattson said. He pressed a button and the currents vanished.

Vivi wrapped Nessa up in a congratulatory hug.

"Yeah! How many badges does that make?" she asked.

Nessa twisted the jacket she was wearing so that Vivi could see.

The brown-gold rectangular Stone Badge. The blue boxing-glove Knuckle Badge. And Nessa pinned the yellow circular Dynamo Badge under them.

"Hmm, so you'll be going for the Heat Badge next, right?"

"Maybe," Nessa responded, thinking about it. Lavaridge Town was north and travelling there would take her further away from her hometown. "I really want to go to Verdanturf town first."

Vivi nodded and smiled.

"You want to go home, right?" Then she paused. "But, you ended up really beaten up when you tried to get there."

"It won't happen this time," Nessa assured her, pulling out her Pokégear. She scrolled down the added numbers. "I've got some people I can call."

* * *

**Author's note: **Hmm...strangely enough, it was problematic uploading this chapter; maybe doesn't like it?


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Intermission (sort of)

* * *

Nessa wasn't surprised when Vivi insisted she stay another night. Her ankle was hurting again and she wasn't able to hide it any longer. She almost toppled when her leg collapsed in a white flash of pain, unable to take her weight. Vivi caught her before her head hit the ground.

Thankfully, Nessa was able to ride Vivi's Numel back to the Winstrate House. It was a bit difficult to get onto the yellow and green camel-like Pokémon's back because its height was just below Nessa's shoulder. She sat with one leg resting down the side of the Pokémon's hump and the other curled up towards her body. It was a strange balancing act, trying to stay on the Pokémon's hump as it moved. Like being on a large, flat exercise ball.

"So, what's the plan?" Vivi asked on the way back.

"Plan?"

"To get Verdanturf."

Nessa thought about it for a moment. If she really did leave the next day, she wouldn't be able to walk the whole way. And none of her Pokémon would be able to carry her.

"I'll probably try walking," she said, "and see how far I get."

Vivi shot her a look.

"I meant, how do you plan on not getting beaten up again?" Nessa could see the flash of anger in her eyes. It seemed that Vivi was more upset about the jerks than she was.

"They won't be a problem," she responded mysteriously. She was quite pleased to see that Vivi was annoyed with her response.

But, she didn't plan to ever tell Vivi why she felt that she would be safe travelling home. It was a selfish decision she had made and one that she was not proud of. The thought of the jerk getting a taste of his own medicine was the only part of the plan which pleased her.

"Maybe you could sit on your bike and have your Pokémon pull you?"

Nessa didn't fully understand Vivi's question.

"What?"

"For travelling," Vivi responded, rolling her eyes. "You could sit on your bike and have one of your Pokémon pull you along. Linoone seems like an energetic and strong Pokémon."

"No," Nessa said flatly. There was no way she was going to do that. Her Pokémon were not tools to be used to make up for her own; almost self-inflicted, injuries. If she had listened to the nurse who had told her to stay off it, she wouldn't be in this situation. "I just need a cane or something." The idea had jumped into her head as she said it. All she needed to do was get her hands on a cane or crutch or something. Keep the weight off it.

It was unfortunate that she didn't have the crutch the nurse had given her anymore. She probably shouldn't have thought that she was healed just because the pain stopped for a day or two.

"It's going to be a long journey with an injured foot," Vivi pointed out.

Nessa scrunched up her nose. As much as she liked Vivi, she didn't like people giving her advice that she already knew. Yes, it was going to be a long journey. And maybe she would need some help.

"It'll be fine," she responded, "I'm travelling back with someone."

Vivi shot her a sceptical look, but it was the truth. She would have to call him again and see if he was willing to pick her up from the Winstrate House instead of just outside of Mauville.

"I just have to tell them that I'm leaving tomorrow," she realised. The call could wait as they weren't meeting for another hour.

"Is it the brother and sister you were travelling with?" Vivi had heard the story from Jane. She had been quite interested in hearing about Helen. According to Jane, Vivi loved hearing about other female trainers, especially those aiming to get to the top.

It was no surprise, then, that her favourite trainer was the League Champion in Sinnoh; Champion Cynthia.

"No." Although Nessa remembered that she had promised to call Finley to tell him how the battle went.

Vivi tried to get the name of the trainer out of Nessa, at least until Nessa let slip a 'he'. She tried not to laugh when the questions stopped. Although, Vivi had told her that it wasn't over and that she was going to find out who this mystery trainer was.

* * *

Nessa sat at the small table in the guest room with her injured foot resting up on another chair. She had just hung up a call to her mother, informing her of that morning's events.

As expected, she was both congratulated and scolded. Congratulated on her win and scolded for not looking after herself.

"I'm fine," she said for the hundredth time, this time to Loudred. The blue Pokémon closed his mouth with a frown and stomped on of his big feet. "What?"

Loudred stomped his foot again. Confused, Nessa was reduced to having to guess what her Pokémon was trying to say.

"Do you think I should stay here longer?" Maybe he agreed with her mother.

Loudred nodded; his mouth opening wide in a smile.

"Not happening," she responded with a shake of her head. Loudred was not impressed. "Trust me a little, okay?"

Thankfully, Linoone quickly appeared. Her long body seemed to flow across the ground. She tapped her paw on Loudred's foot, muttered something to him in Pokémon speak, and led him out of the room.

Nessa breathed a sigh of relief. Since she had returned to the manor, people and Pokémon alike had been hovering over her. She wondered what Linoone had said to Loudred to get the latter to leave since Loudred had been hovering the whole time.

She pressed the button to call the next person she needed to update.

"Hello?" Finley's voice came through clear. There was some kind of humming in the background. It was different to the phone call Nessa had made to him the previous night, there weren't any sounds of people in the background. He also sounded a bit sick.

"Where are you?" she asked, curious.

"The Cable Car station in Route 112," he responded, "Helen beat the gym yesterday and then dragged me out here."

"You don't sound too happy about it."

Finley made a sound that was almost like a whimper.

"I don't like heights," he whispered into the phone, "I hate heights. And you know what Cable Cars are? They're metal boxes held up by a single wire, dangling high in the air!"

Nessa tried not to laugh. But, a giggle or two managed to escape. His voice had gone high-pitched and borderline hysterical by the time he finished freaking out.

"Poor you," she responded.

"Yeah, poor me," he sighed, "so, how'd your gym challenge go?"

"I won," she responded, "although I would have been defeated if it wasn't for Combusken."

"Yeah, Helen thought a fire-type might come in handy. She wants a Numel for herself."

"Numel can come in handy," Nessa responded, remembered Vivi's Pokémon.

"Yeah," Finley sounded distracted. "So, what's next?"

"Well, tomorrow I head home."

"That's good!" Finley said and Nessa was glad he didn't know the whole story of her first attempt. He was the first one to sound happy about her plans. Well, the first one other than her Pokémon. Except for Loudred, they were all okay with her decision to travel the next day.

When she didn't reply, Finley continued, "I guess we'll see you in a few days then. After Helen beats this next Gym Leader, we'll be heading back to Verdanturf town."

"Wouldn't it be better to head up to Fallabor Town and around to Rustboro? The tunnel's out, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Apparently, he didn't remember. "But, it might be completed in a few days." And he was very optimistic. "Besides, I want to try entering a contest or two. Helen's okay with the detour."

"Okay," she responded. She sniffled a yawn. It wasn't that talking to Finley was boring, it's just that she had spent almost an hour on the phone talking to her mother. And Vivi had made her take some pain medicine for her ankle.

"Oh no," Finley suddenly spouted. There was rustling on the other end and Nessa perked up as she heard Helen's voice on the other end.

"Don't you dare hide behind your Pokémon!" She sounded angry. "Come on, stop acting like a baby."

"No!" Finley cried out. There was a clatter and a whine of feedback.

"Hello?" Nessa called into the phone.

"Is that Nessa?" Helen questioned.

"Yes."

"Oh, hey!" There wasn't a trace of the anger she had heard before. "Sorry to interrupt your phone call but the Cable Car is about to leave."

"That's fine."

"I'll call you back later, okay? Bye!" A moment later the phone clicked and beeped; indicating Helen had hung up.

Nessa took a moment to be glad for her good, but distant, relationship with her brother and sister. They would never make her do something she didn't like. Or so she hoped.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Ugh, I think I'm coming down with something (sick).

Anyway, I'll put my reply to Rosemary here because I can't PM them:

_I was going to try and address some of your concerns in this chapter but it didn't quite work out that way, so I'll explain here and try and fit it in later._

_ Nessa's not so much of a prodigy as she is an observer. She's been raised around Pokémon and battling because her brother is a trainer. The journal mentioned in an earlier is something he wrote for her, keeping her up-to-date with his travels. She only began adding to it when she started travelling. She probably also stole some of his books, reading about different Pokémon types and how to battle._

_ Also, in this story, trainers don't normally travel around as quickly as Nessa is. They spend a few days to months in certain towns and cities and travel routes a bit slower. They train and rest appropriately, act a little like tourists and also find work when their funds run low. Nessa's in a hurry to get home and that means that she hasn't properly rested the way a travelling trainer would. It's forced her Pokémon to level and grow at a quicker rate than the Pokémon of trainers who spend ages in the same place. She's also been battling a lot off screen; while travelling and training, and has surrounded herself with trainers she can challenge whenever. In truth, if she kept travelling the way she is for the whole League Challenge she would burn out, injure herself or lose the respect of her Pokémon (right now her Pokémon understand why they need to get stronger quickly and truthfully they expect a rest after reaching Verdanturf Town). You can start to see the consequences of her fast pace in this chapter._

_ I'm glad you like the way the environments, routes and places are presented. They are the main focus of this story, because I always loved the towns and places in Hoenn. _

_ I don't believe there are any more battles planned before the end of the story; although there is a battle plotted out from my game notes that I did intend to use, we'll just see what happens. I've tried to write the battles a little more like they are in the game while trying to fit them into the universe of this story; I achieved one part of that. I'll keep your concerns in mind the next time I write a battle(scene)._

_ Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story._

_..._and also thanks again to everyone out there who has already reviewed and those who follow this story.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Take Two.

* * *

Nessa was wrong. Her brother would make her do something she didn't want. But, unlike Finley's sister, he didn't drag her all over the region. It was worse. He made her stay an extra week in Mauville City. A week!

The plan had been for Eric to pick her up in Mauville and escort her back to Verdanturf Town. His Pokémon were much stronger than hers and he was more practised at Pokémon battles. He even had seven badges!

Vivi had not been impressed when Nessa hobbled all the way to the entrance of Route 117. And Eric had not been happy to see her hobble up while placing her weight against the crutch Jane had 'borrowed' from the Pokémon centre.

He took one look at her ankle and said that she wasn't going anywhere but back to where she had spent the night.

And then he wouldn't even hear talk about leaving until a doctor said she was okay to walk unaided.

"Why don't you just fly us back?" she whined after the first few days. He had the badge and a Pokémon that knew Fly so, why were they waiting for her to heal?

"What would you gain from that?" he would respond and then move to another room so she would have to slowly chase after him.

It was frustrating and infuriating.

Her Pokémon didn't agree. The little traitors. Eric's Pokémon and her Pokémon got along really well, playing and lazing about in the Winstrate's fenced off lands.

Eric's Tropius; a large, brown, leafy Pokémon which could be mistaken for a large palm tree, seemed to take all her Pokémon under its leaves. He would fan Linoone; sending the Pokémon skittering around on powerful breezes, and appeared to chat with Loudred. Beautifly was seen resting in his leaves and Combusken seemed to like jumping over his tall body.

Eric's Banette was a different story. The ghost-type Pokémon, which resembled a dark ragdoll with a zip for a mouth, only hung around Linoone. No one could figure out why. But Banette was often spotted curled up in the shade; she didn't like the sun, with Linoone's long furry body curled around her. Nessa was surprised that Linoone was able to stop long enough to rest and Eric was surprised to see Banette getting alone with another Pokémon.

Eric's Mightyena was more content to watch over all the other Pokémon while lying in the sun.

Eric didn't release his other two Pokémon at all. He didn't let Wailord out, because the blue whale Pokémon was far too large. And he didn't let Weezing out, because the dark purple, floating Pokémon was too poisonous.

* * *

Nessa's brother and Pokémon ganged up on her for a week, until the visiting doctor said she could travel. She had asked for that in writing, knowing that evidence was probably needed in order to convince those travelling with her.

The morning of her departure dawned. And it was raining. Dark clouds had gathered overnight and had begun depositing buckets of water over Route 111, Mauville and Route 117.

"We're still going," she announced with her bag slung over her back and Loudred by her side. "The rain is supposed to ease later this morning."

Eric looked from her to the water raining down across the threshold. For a moment, Nessa thought he might refuse.

"Fine," he sighed, pulling a collapsible umbrella out of his bag. "But we're only travelling to Mauville. If the rain doesn't let up, we're not going any further."

"Pokémon Day-Care centre," she countered. Seeing his confused look, she elaborated, "the Pokémon Day-Care is in Route 117, only half-an-hour out of Mauville on foot. We can wait there if the rain doesn't stop."

"Along with all the other trainers caught in this," Eric responded with a frown.

"Hey, I may have asked you to be my bodyguard but that doesn't mean I have to travel with you."

She may have slightly stepped behind Loudred, hoping that the Pokémon might protect her from a lecture. Loudred's body did remind her of a shield and it was calming.

"I should have expected this," Eric commented, before relenting.

Nessa stepped out into the rain and almost regretted being headstrong. It was cold! Rain stung her face with every breeze, although it wasn't too windy. The rain that hit her raincoat made loud rustling bangs and weighed down her steps.

"I wish I hadn't given Castform to Elisa," Eric whined during the walk to Mauville.

"Castform?" Nessa questioned. She knew a little about the Pokémon, namely how it changed with the weather. She didn't know how a normal-turned-water-type would help them.

"Castform can control the weather in a localised area," Eric explained, moving closer to her so she could hear him better. "We'd be able to walk without getting hit by rain."

"Sounds better than an umbrella," Nessa commented.

"But rare," Eric informed her, "The Weather Institute only gives out a few each year. I was lucky enough to get one but, it didn't like me so much. And I heard they were good Pokémon for contests so-"

"You gave it to Elisa," Nessa responded, getting how this story ended. She was a little irritated that Elisa never introduced her to the Castform.

"Yeah, and haven't heard from it since. I think she's still training it," Eric responded.

"It might help if you visited her once and a while," Nessa responded. She probably sounded a bit bitter but, it took a natural disaster; at least she hoped it was natural, and her in trouble for him to visit her.

"True," he responded nonchalantly, "I guess I'll visit her after getting you home."

They talked about their Pokémon until they reached Mauville. The rain had started getting lighter but the sky was still dark.

Nessa shoes were probably ruined by the water and mud, but she didn't think it was the right time to complain about that.

* * *

Mauville City was quiet and shrouded in darkness. Clouds rumbled overhead but, thankfully, the rain had stopped.

Nessa and Eric road through the city and straight towards Route 117. They had both chosen a Mach bike so they could make good time.

The road was quiet, but not deserted as Nessa has expected. The triathletes were out, some running and some riding. Eric waved to them as they passed.

And then two girls had to step out onto the path. Nessa almost went over the handlebars, trying to stop.

"Hello!" The one with raven dark hair tied up in a ponytail was the first to greet them. She stood there confidently, as if she owned the path.

The other girl had short brown hair that only reached past her ears. She stood slightly behind the confident one and had a more serious expression on her face.

Eric sighed, as if this kind of thing happened all the time.

"Sorry girls," he said, "if you're looking for a battle, I've already got seven badges."

"I'm Anna!" the confident girl said, "and this is my junior, Meg. I'm showing her how to initiate battles." She held up a hand before Eric could speak. "And you may not be the best option but, what about the girl behind you?"

"Me?" Nessa said, her voice involuntarily squeaking. She wondered where Anna found the confidence to speak to them like this. "I've got three badges."

"That sounds alright!" Anna said, pulling out a Pokéball. "Care to battle us?"

"Both of you?" she questioned. A double battle? She had only double battled twice before! And since there was only one of her to two other trainers, it could be difficult at times to concentrate properly.

"Both of us!" Anna responded, releasing her Pokémon; a Zigzagoon.

Meg followed suit, releasing a Makuhita.

Nessa climbed down from her bike and passed it to her brother. Eric held the bike upright as she picked out two Pokéballs and released her two choices.

"Loudred and Beautifly!" Her first two Pokémon. They were also the two Pokémon that worked the best together. As a Zigzagoon, Linoone had run around and gotten in the way of other Pokémon's shots and Nessa didn't know if that habit had carried over after her evolution. And, Combusken tried to take out all the Pokémon by itself. He didn't work very well with other Pokémon.

So, Loudred and Beautifly it was. Plus, Beautifly would make quick work of the fighting-type Makuhita.

"Beautifly, Gust on Makuhita! Loudred, Pound on Zigzagoon!" Because ordering needs to be more specific during a double battle, Nessa hadn't been able to concentrate on what the Senior and Junior ordered.

Beautifly flew close to the ground and began to whip up great gusts of wind. Loudred stayed behind the flying Pokémon and waited for his chance.

Zigzagoon hopped forward, not even hindered by the wind. The small brown, dog-like Pokémon was almost hidden in the grass and Nessa didn't see it until it jumped out at Beautifly and whacked its tail into her Pokémon. Right after, Loudred surged forward and hit Zigzagoon away from Beautifly.

"Tail whip," she murmured under her breath, realising a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. As long as she finished this quickly, the defence loss wouldn't matter.

The wind paused for a moment as Beautifly absorbed the hit. Makuhita moved forward, sensing a chance.

But, before its attack could connect, the wind kicked up once more. It was only for a moment but it was strong enough to send the rotund Pokémon flying back into a nearby tree and out of the battle.

Nessa didn't stop to think about the attack, only to register if Makuhita was really out. Then, she concentrated her attacks onto the Zigzagoon.

The Zigzagoon let out a Growl, an attack that was wasted on Loudred and hardly fazed Beautifly.

Beautifly surged forward, soaring up and over Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon watched carefully as Beautifly landed a short distance behind it. It was cornered; Beautifly behind it and Loudred in front of it.

Hackles raised but Nessa's Pokémon were faster. Before Zigzagoon could do anything, Beautifly hit it with a Gust attack. Instead of the trees, Zigzagoon was blown right into Loudred, who pounded the little brown Pokémon into the ground and out of the battle.

"Ouch," Eric commented, wincing. However, he also sounded a little impressed. And Nessa decided not to tell him that her Pokémon had coordinated that move while cracking coconuts on Dewford's beaches. She did write about it in the journal, though, titled 'how to impress the locals and make yourself useful'.

* * *

**Author's note: **Look at that, I managed to get another battle in. Yay, me! I'm hoping this battle flows a little better.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - Getting Home

* * *

Nessa never did get to see her brother tear into the jerks that blocked the road. During her week off, she had Vivi collect statements for her. Most came from trainers who had been pushed back by, what they described as, 'an unbeatable mob'. Some were unluckier than her, having to spend a night or two in the wilderness while hobbling back to Mauville City.

What they did was simple; there was a lookout further up the road who challenged all passing trainers. If the trainer had three badges or less, he would phone the group further up the road. Then, the group would block the road and spring the trap on the unsuspecting trainer.

She had figured this out three days in, with some help from Vivi and Eric. The fourth day, they had gone to fix the problem. Without her.

That had not been part of her plan. Eric called it punishment, for disregarding doctor's orders.

The plan had been simple. She would beat the trainer and let Eric walk into the trap. He would walk a little bit in front of her so that they would have to battle him first. It would also help if she acted like she was protecting him during the first battle.

The only change was that Vivi went instead of her. And Nessa heard about what happened later.

* * *

After the battle, the jerk had been quick to call foul. He accused them of hiding their real strength.

Eric pointed to the badges he wore freely on his jacket, he didn't hide them they way Nessa did, and pointed out that he could obviously see what he had and that Vivi didn't have any badges. Eric thought that it balanced out that way, even if Vivi's first Pokémon was on par with his and she had brought it along just for this battle.

The jerk moved to physically attack Eric but was arrested before he could land a hit. Eric had friends in both the Mauville and Verdanturf police forces. Nessa's notes and the statements he and Vivi had gotten from trainers was enough to place a few charges against the group.

But, frustratingly enough, they wouldn't tell her any more than that. She didn't even know who Eric's friends in the force were.

She was surprised to find that Vivi could keep a secret as she had always thought that the girl was a bit of a gossip.

Even the news reports the next day didn't reveal any more information.

* * *

It was a bit of a mystery but she didn't think it should have attracted the attention it got. She could tell when they past the place the battle took place. If the scorch marks weren't evidence enough, the people hanging around certainly were.

They were all trainers, Pokéballs clipped to their belts or bags. She spotted some spitting onto the ground and a few more stalking up and down the area.

"Patrols," Eric told her, "let's just say the trainers staying in Verdanturf town weren't impressed with what was going on under their noses."

Nessa was surprised at how personally some of these trainers seemed to be taking this.

It was almost like they blamed themselves for what the gang had been doing.

The trainers waved and smiled, wishing them welcome with some even stopping them for a chat. But, no challenges to battle were issued and there was little talk about battles.

Nessa found out a little more about the tunnel progress. Most of the loose debris on this side had been removed but trainers weren't able to start smashing rocks just yet. There were engineers and environmental scientists currently researching the area and looking into just what can be removed without bringing the whole tunnel down and figuring out the potential risk to the area and to the Pokémon.

"Lots of sitting around, lots of paperwork and very slow progress," one trainer had described it as.

"Boring," had been Eric's comment.

The work was being pushed so the actual removal of the rocks was supposed to begin before next month.

This was when Eric told Nessa that he was going to fly elsewhere after this and return when the work began.

Nessa tried not to act as disappointed as she felt; she would see him again in a month after all, but it was hard. Since he started his journey, she rarely saw her brother and at times it was annoying and at other times it was frustrating but it was mostly lonely. More so, since she was the only one of the three siblings still living at home.

* * *

Weird. She hadn't really thought about how lonely it had been while travelling. There had always been something else of interest and her Pokémon to keep her company. She missed home at times but she was heading in that direction anyway, so she didn't think it mattered.

* * *

The first step into Verdanturf Town did not come with tears or welcoming arms. If anything, it was a soft whisper. Nessa took her first step past the welcome sign and felt something; a knot of stress vanishing from her shoulders, and she relaxed. Home. It was interesting how even the air felt different to how it did a moment ago. But, she couldn't bask in the feeling for long, only a moment before she had to move quickly to catch up with Eric.

Nothing seemed to have changed in the time she had been away. The buildings were the same as before, the roads the same and even the people seemed the same. There were more unfamiliar faces than usual but, contests sometimes brought in big crowds and it wasn't much different to that.

The house seemed silent. Nessa stood at the front door and wondered if she needed to knock. She had never knocked before but, she had been away for over two weeks.

Great, now she felt the distance of a journey home. It hovered in an awkward air around her and she wished for it to go away. She thought that the best way for that to happen would be to just act like it was any other time.

She moved to open the door; if it was locked, she would knock and if not, she would just walk right in.

"Oi, Nessa-" Eric began to protest.

"Mum! We're home!" she called out, cutting him off and walking straight inside.

"Nessa!" Her mother appeared from the dining room with a large smile on her face. "And Eric, too! How's the journey?"

"It was alright," Nessa said, heading straight for the kitchen. She needed a drink of water as her water bottle was empty.

"Fine," Eric responded, giving their mother a kiss on the cheek before following Nessa.

Grape, their pet Taillow, flew inside to greet them. The blue, feathery Pokémon did a circuit of the dining and kitchen areas before landing on their mother's shoulder with a happy cry.

"Looks like Grape's happy to see us," Nessa commented with a laugh.

Their mother smiled and agreed, petting the Pokémon lightly on the head.

"Did you get my letter?" she asked, as if they hadn't been conversing via Pokémon gear most of the journey.

Nessa nodded. She was about to pull it out when she spotted something she hadn't seen in a while.

"Coffee!" she cheered, spotting the glass jar behind the sugar. It was one of the things that Pokémon centres did not offer; for free, and something she now viewed as a treat. Coffee was expensive in the outside world.

"It's kind of late." She glared at Eric when he said that. She also ignored him. The coffee was needed if she was to not collapse after dinner.

* * *

"Introduce me to your Pokémon," their mother said.

Eric glanced around nervously. Their house, while two stories and rather large, was not the best place for him to release his Pokémon.

On the other hand, Nessa's Pokémon each took up the same; or less, amount of space as a human.

"Linoone," she said, releasing the Pokémon. Linoone was one of her smaller Pokémon. She also had enough manners to dash over to her mother and sniff hello before running off and exploring the new place. "She's kind of energetic," Nessa said apologetically.

Her mother waved off her concerns. Linoone was not the first Pokémon of its kind in their house, although it was a bit more wild than the one Elisa trained for contests.

"Beautifly." Whose wings seemed to glow vibrant yellow in the afternoon light of the lounge room.

"Oh, aren't you a pretty one," her mother cooed.

He ignored her and settled atop Nessa's head, resting most of his weight on the back of the couch.

"Combusken." Here, Nessa showed pictures. She had found that Combusken didn't like people very much, unless they were trainers and there was the chance of a battle. Combusken would be released later, for training.

"And, finally, Loudred." This was the first time Nessa was nervous about releasing Loudred. They were back near the tunnel and she was certain that he would be able to hear the calls of his kind.

The large blue Pokémon tilted his head for a moment, as if listening to something far away. Nessa's heart fluttered in her chest. She tried not to remember what she had read about Loudred; the Pokémon was capable of tearing apart houses with sound, and tried to trust in her Pokémon.

Finally, Loudred turned to her and expressed interest in her drink. A few moments after that, Loudred decided that he didn't like coffee and wandered off in search of something else to eat.

"I think he has the right idea," Eric commented, "what's for dinner?"

"Lasagna." The tip of their mother's mouth twitched. Eric tended to have a one-track mind when it came to food. In addition, he was also a bottomless pit, eating everything in sight if he could.

"Ohh, lasagna!" and he was gone.

* * *

Nessa awoke early the next morning, while the sky was still dark, from the clutches of another nightmare. Her clock read 1:12 in bright, glowing red numbers.

She was sweaty but still comfortable, wrapped in her own sheets on her own mattress and not ready to move yet but not ready to return to sleep yet.

A dark figure stood by her door, the silhouette recognisable in Nessa's sleepy state.

"Are you going to leave?" she asked Loudred, seeing the Pokémon turn back to look at her. She bit her lip. She didn't want to say it but the words, "you're free to go if you want to," passed though her lips. The nightmares had been okay, but only when Loudred was near her. She didn't want to think about what it would be like without the Pokémon she saw as a constant companion. However, it was easier to be selfish in the dead of night especially after waking up from nightmares of darkness and being alone surrounded only by rocks. "I'd like it if you would stay," and, "I want you to stay," also passed through her lips.

Loudred hesitated a moment. His speaker-like ear was lit by a passing bit of moonlight.

Finally, the Pokémon completely turned to face her and waddled back over to the bed. He climbed back onto the bed and conked out on the edge of Nessa's pillow.

Nessa fell back to sleep while planning a 'vacation' to Lavaridge town, for sometime soon.

* * *

**Author's note: **That's the end of it. Endings are really hard to write and I feel I've kind of screwed this one up. But, not to worry! There's an epilogue on the way!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Epilogue

* * *

It took Finley three weeks to finally get the Heat badge. The first week, Helen won by adding Finley's Wingull; now Pelipper, to her team temporarily. Finley; holding Grovyle temporarily, was completely defeated even with Kip on his team. Gym Leader Flannery refused to battle him for at least a week and Helen forced him to 'get his lazy self out of the hot springs and get to training' for the second week.

Nessa spent those three weeks settling back into life at home. It felt like she never left, except now she could battle most of the trainers who came into town to check on the tunnel works. Mostly she just relaxed on the couch, hung out with friends and read books.

"They send in as many trainers as they can at once," she told Finley when he called with the good news. "And all those trainers use their Pokémon to smash rocks and move them out. It negates the need for large machinery." And having a Loudred or Exploud in your team put you at the top of the list for work, since both those Pokémon were evolutions of Whismur. Whismur were the only kind of Pokémon in the tunnel and they were more settled if the Pokémon used were related to them.

"Good thing all those trainers are willing to help." She heard a hesitation on the other end.

"Loudred is with Eric during work," she told him, hoping she guessed the unasked question correctly. "He has the badge for Rock Smash and I can trust him with my Pokémon."

"Let it never be said that you give up," Finley praised. He sounded pleased and she found herself smiling despite the images the subject brought up.

She had offered her assistance as soon as they opened the reconstruction works to trainers. But, the moment she stepped into the tunnel, she panicked. The wall of rocks just inside the entrance and caused her throat to close up and her body to grow uncomfortably hot. She couldn't move and Loudred and to pull her out.

It took half-an-hour for her to be able to move from the spot where she balled up near the entrance and hours for her to completely feel normal again. She had been forbidden to help in the reconstruction efforts because of her panic attacks, although no one blamed her after Eric explained that she had crawled out after the cave-in.

She had called Finley that night and burst into tears while explaining it to him. She hated not having control over her body and not knowing when she might freeze again.

"There must be other ways to help," Finley had said, "what are the trainers who can't use Rock Smash doing?"

Well, most of those trainers had left. Some planned to challenge Gym Leader Wattson and come back while some decided to continue their journey. The one who stayed seemed to not really have any plans.

But, his words had given her the idea to lend Loudred out to a trainer who could use Rock Smash but didn't have a Pokémon with the move. Eric had volunteered and signed up again the next day; he had been refused the first time because he didn't have a Pokémon who knew Rock Smash, despite possessing the required badge.

"Do you plan to get the rest of the badges?" Finley asked.

Nessa had been thinking about it. She especially wanted the Feather Badge because it would allow her to use Fly, which hopefully would mean no more entering caves or tunnels.

"Mum's okayed a trip to Lavaridge town in a few weeks," she said, "she plans to come and have Eric fly Elisa over to come with us, if the tunnel is completed before then."

"You'll be walking?" He sounded surprised. Most people didn't walk from place to place, that was something trainers did. Walking was the only way to encounter wild Pokémon and other trainers.

"Yeah," she responded, "Elisa's going to use the opportunity to catch and train a fire-type Pokémon for contests. She says something about how they're good for beauty contests. Mum's looking for improve her fitness and maybe see some new sights so she's all for it."

"Wow," Finley sounded impressed. It was a rare thing, families journeying together. "I guess that's what happens when you plan it like a vacation."

"Except it means that if I don't beat the Gym Leader during the week and a half we're there, then I'll have to wait for another chance. And that won't be for months."

* * *

A week later, her Pokégear went off in the middle of the night.

"Help me," Finley whined into the phone, sounding like a hurt Zigzagoon. "Helen's gone bonkers!"

Nessa glanced over at her clock, the numbers 2:52 glowing steadily in the darkness.

"It's almost three in the morning," she croaked out, almost banging her head against her pillow.

Beautifly, who had been sleeping on the headboard, fluttered awake with the gust of wind and quiet cry. Nessa apologised as Finley talked.

"She heard something about a 'secret base' and dragged me out to Route 111. Now it's dark and cold and she doesn't seem to know where we're going. She stopped for a few hours and then woke me up at one to keep exploring!"

Rudely awoken and lying in her warm bed with her Pokémon by her side, Nessa really couldn't sympathise with him.

"Which part of Route 111 are you on?" she asked, "north of the desert or south?"

"I don't-north I think." He sounded panicked and Nessa could hear the sounds of a Pokémon battle in the background. "Why does it matter?"

"Because, in the south part, you could stop by the Winstrate House." Although it might already be sunrise by the time they got there. "But, in the north part there's the 'Old Lady's Rest Stop.' It's a large three story house-slash-hotel and she lets trainers stay a night for free. You could go there."

"Oh, yes! Thank you, Nessa! That's brilliant! Now I just have to find it, go, Steve!" She heard the Pelipper's cry right before the call cut out.

'So they traded back', was Nessa last conscious thought before returning to sleep.

* * *

Another week or so passed and;

* * *

Finley went straight for the food, after a quick 'hello'.

"Don't worry about him," Helen said, nonchalantly, "we've been travelling for days."

"I'm gonna die," Finley whined.

"I thought you were going 'round to Rustboro City," Nessa commented as they sat down to tea. Tunnel restorations had only reached their half-way point.

"We're going to stay here in Verdanturf Town until the tunnel's open again," Finley announced with a happy sigh.

"I love the idea of being some of the first people through," Helen informed her with a smile.

Nessa hesitated a moment before saying, "that's great." It was, but she was off to Lavaridge town in a few days.

It turned out that they had already rented a place for their stay in a small apartment complex that catered to trainers.

Finley challenged Nessa again and she lost. Maybe she had been spending too much time loafing around the house.

* * *

Nessa had four badges by the time the tunnel reopened. She hadn't been able to use Loudred in her gym battle, because he was busy working with her brother, but she caught and raised a new Pokémon to help her.

As she had said, Helen and Finley were part of the first group to go through. Because of possible dangers, trainers would make the first journey and check things out before members of the public would be allowed entry.

There was a lot of fanfare, people had set up craft and food stalls and there were streamers and colour everywhere. Nessa phoned Elisa but Rustboro wasn't throwing a festival like Verdanturf town was.

Nessa waved as Helen and Finley vanished into the darkness. She suppressed a shudder at the sight.

"Remember to visit soon. We'll be expecting you!" Finley said, calling the moment they exited the tunnel on the other side. Frustratingly enough, he hung up a moment later.

* * *

It was a month later when Nessa finally took her first step into Petalburg city. It had taken a week of journey around the northern points of Hoenn to get around to Rustboro and them to Petalburg.

She had walked through blistering desert. Wandered through fields of ash with more ash falling around her. There had been wetlands and a dreaded cave that no one had thought to warn her about. Thankfully, the cave had been large and well-lit with a waterfall even if she had ridden her Gyarados quickly through and had been in such a hurry she had left her father; who she had been travelling with, behind.

The first few breaths of non-cave air and the touch of sunshine had almost stopped her heart for the second time that day.

Then there were ledges to jump to get to Rustboro City.

All to bypass one tunnel.


End file.
